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2019 LAKE RUDOLF
Special MOYALE
LODWAR
WAJIR
ELDORET LAKE VICTORIA
KISUMU
MERU GARISSA
NAIROBI NAKURU MACHAKOS LAMU
MALINDI
MOMBASA
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A tale of two countries The Kenya saga that shaped the UK istory is not shaped by those who did nothing. The stories of Kenya Asians in this magazine, narrate a history that is rarely discussed in mainstream media. They provide a unique insight into the relationship between The Empire and the then regions of Kenya, Uganda and Tanganyika. Apart from the region's journey to independence, this magazine focusses on tales as old as time. It collates unique stories of individuals who are often recognised as 'twice migrants'. Twice migrants are usually people of South Asian origin who have migrated to the UK from countries other than those in South Asia. Often, these migrants are descendants of people of Indian origin and hail from Gujarat and Punjab. These migrants arrived in the UK looking for better economic opportunities. Today, from politics and business to health services, British Asians continue to make inroads into the country's key industries. Mombasaborn Lord Ranbir Singh Suri, the second Sikh to enter the House of Lords, has successfully demonstrated that London is open to meritorious leadership. High street pharmacy in Britain was primarily dominated by native white pharmacists. East African migrants such as Vijay and Bhikhu Patel of Waymade Plc altered the country's pharmaceutical landscape with the introduction of extended shop hours. They have also broken ground in the UK's pharmaceutical manufacturing sector, and continue to lead medical innovations in niche generic medicines. Nairobi-born Bharat Shah continues to achieve milestones in his own right through his family-run Sigma Pharmaceutical Plc. Dhamecha Cash & Carry has become a household name in today's grocery and FMCG wholesale business. Originally from Kenya, their contribution to the British Asian diaspora through community services has been immense. In the process of adapting to the cultural values of their adopted countries, staying rooted to their own heritage, religion and faiths can prove to be difficult. Vraj Pankhania and Vascroft Foundation have cultivated and nurtured the seeds of their religion in this country alongside BAPS Swaminarayan. All these stories are bound by common threads of humble beginnings, hard work, and determination as they established themselves in this country. I thank each of these individuals featured in this magazine for stepping forward and sharing their stories with us. It gives me great pleasure to offer my warmest congratulations to the entire team of Asian Business Publication Limited especially Kokilaben Patel and Priyanka who have worked tirelessly in successfully completing this initiative. The individuals featured in this magazine are only a few success stories but there are several others who we could not feature owing to various reasons. We hope to tell their stories in future editions of Tanzania and Uganda. Through this project, we hope to inspire and educate our future generations and leave them with a piece of history that is rarely discussed.
H
CB Patel Publisher/Editor Asian Voice and Gujarat Samachar
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The road to freedom The story of Ugandan Asians is unforgettable. These Asians were not a burden on the UK. They proved to be honest, hard working and successful individuals very much like Kenyan Asians. Their contributions to the British economy stands invaluable today. Today, we live in a complex era of multiple identities and skewed debates around immigration. But to analyse today's politics it is important to understand history in its right perspective. I began my political career in Kenya after the UK Parliament had repealed the Immigration Bill in 1968. As
Lord Ranbir Singh Suri, House of Lords London SW1 AOPW
part of the new reforms the British government had asked Indians who were settled in Kenya to prove their nationalities. Some of these Indians were brought into Kenya by the British East India Company as workers for the construction of the famous African Railways network. Therefore, they were ultimately the responsibility of the British Government and not that of India. Consequently, like me thousands of Indians migrated from Kenya and settled in the UK while some chose to return to India. Those who were unable to prove their immigration status were assisted and guided by me as the honorary correspondent to British High Commission in Kenya to prove that they were British subjects. Over the years, these British Asian migrants have made significant contributions in the fields of business, politics, medicine, arts and culture. However, there is little information recorded in mainstream media around their journey. It is therefore, a great pleasure to offer my congratulations to all the individuals featured in this magazine for their myriad achievements. But most significantly, I congratulate the Asian Business Publications Ltd. for providing this unique insight into history.
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The lost Indians and IN 1834, INDIAN LABOURERS STARTED LOOKING FOR JOB OPPORTUNITIES IN MAURITIUS. IN THE MEANTIME, COUNTRIES SUCH AS THE NETHERLANDS AND FRANCE STARTED UNDERSTANDING THE ECONOMICAL VALUE OF INDIAN WORKERS. THIS MEANT THAT THEY STARTED RELYING ON THEM TO CHURN OUT LARGE QUANTITIES OF FINISHED PRODUCTS IN RECORD TIME. THUS, BY 1878 INDIANS WERE KNOWN TO BE WORKING IN GUYANA, TRINIDAD, SOUTH AFRICA, SURINAME,AND FIJI. MOST OF THESE WORKERS HAILED FROM IMPOVERISHED TOWNS OF WESTERN AND NORTHERN INDIA AND WERE EMPLOYED IN PLANTATIONS ACROSS THE AFRICAN CONTINENT OF FIJI, AND MAURITIUS.
The historical evolution of the Indian diaspora in foreign off-shores dates back a century with ambitions of establishing an economically prosperous lifestyle. Most migratory stories narrate of indentured labour in far-flung colonies either as postwar labourers for the English industries or sometimes as highly skilled professionals in North America, Middle-East and Africa. In 1834, Indian labourers started looking for job opportunities in Mauritius. In the meantime, countries such as the Netherlands and France started understanding the economical value of Indian workers. This meant that they started relying on them to churn out large quantities of finished products in record time. Thus, by 1878 Indians were known to be working in Guyana, Trinidad, South Africa, Suriname, and Fiji. Most of these workers hailed from impoverished towns of western and northern India and were employed in plantations across the African continent of Fiji, and Mauritius. This established the migratory labour cycle of Indians for approximately 80 years. Records suggest that these labourers would initially enter into a five-year contract with their employer. Towards the end of their tenure, many would renew their employment agreement. But, it is also understood that others would seize that opportunity to permanently settle in the country as opposed to travelling back to India. This means that they had either accepted a piece of land or a certain
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amount of monetary compensation instead of going back home.
ECONOMY, ARMED FORCES AND ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES Labourers in Guyana and East Africa hailed mainly from Punjab and Gujarat. Gradually, they established the SOME phenomenon of INDIAN OFFICIALS secondary migration with CORROBORATED WITH THE LOCAL ethnic Indians GOVERNMENT IN THE NEW COLONIES settled in Kenya AND PROTECTORATES. INDIAN moving to Harry Johnston countries such as LABOURERS, IN THE MEANTIME WERE AT the UK and the THE HELM OF MAJOR CONSTRUCTION the Ugandan US. PROJECTS SUCH AS THE UGANDAN Railways. The But before their Indian government, shift to the first world RAILWAYS. therefore secured the countries, many of right for these workers to these individuals can be settle in East Africa. The accoladed for their contribution to establishment of these railway lines the growth of the African economy. can be measured equivalent to the Entrepreneurial members of the liberalisation of the East African Indian diaspora started establishing economy with market and borders their businesses in different being open to Indian traders and industries. Kenya's economy merchants. multiplied manifolds with trade and Harry Johnston, the then special commerce flourishing in the reins of commissioner for Uganda, Indian businessmen. reportedly believed that Indians Some Indian troops also would represent the largest participated in the defense and proportion in the country's armed armed forces to protect the East forces and civil administration. In the African territories, while other Indian 1920s, 70 percent of Gujaratis held officials corroborated with the local administration jobs. Historians record government in the new colonies and that almost every station master was protectorates. Indian labourers, in a Patel. The East African Indian the meantime were at the helm of National Congress was established major construction projects such as
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d politics of migration the colonial rule. Makhan Singh, AR Kapila, Ambubhai Patel, and Pio Gama Pinto, founder of Kenya African National Union newspaper were at the forefront of this campaign for equal rights.
KENYA AFRICAN NATIONAL UNION (KANU) The Kenyan African National Union (KANU) ruled Kenya for nearly 40 years after the country was liberated from being a THE Pio Gama Pinto, British colony. The founder of Kenya INDIAN DIASPORA HELD Organisation was African National THE REIGNS OF THE COUNTRY'S initially formed as Union newspaper the Kenyan African ECONOMY AS OPPOSED TO THE Union (KAU) in in Mombasa In LOCAL AFRICAN COMUNITY AND WAS, 1944, with the 1914 at the heights THEREFORE, BETTER PLACED TO agenda of of WWI which was addressing NEGOTIATE WITH THE BRITISH grievances of designed alongside the principles and Kenyan citizens GOVERNMENT. ideologies of the Indian against the British National Congress. During colonial rule. The Party tried to WW1, militant anti-imperialist Ghadar promote inclusivity with members Party established a branch in East recruited across the colony of Africa and received monumental Kenya. Jomo Kenyatta was the support from the Asian community. political leader spearheading the As the decade took a turn, racial KAU from 1947 until his incarceration discrimination intensified during the for alleged involvement in the Mau 1920s. The Indian diaspora held the Mau Uprisings in 1953. reigns of the country's economy as Following the movement, the opposed to the local African British government banned the KAU comunity and was, therefore, better along with other national political placed to negotiate with the British parties and associations in central Government. Arguing for proportional political representation of the Indian diaspora, members refused the two seats on the legislative council that was initially proposed. Eventually, in 1927, Indians won the right to five seats on the council, in comparison to eleven reserved for the Europeans. By 1960s Asian businesses dominated the high street and accounted for merely 2 percent of the total population. Ahead of Kenya's independence, they owned almost three-quarters of the private nonagricultural assets in the country. As WWII broke out there was growing momentum for the battle caption: xx x x x xx x x xxxxxxxxxxxx against the inequalities imposed by
Kenya. But the Indian government was supportive of KAU. Apa Saheb Pant, the then Commissioner of India to East Africa posted in Kenya, openly endorsed his support for KAU. This created heightened tensions with the British officials who requested the Indian government to remove Apa Pant. Consequently, in 1954, Indira Gandhi had to terminate his five and a half year tenure in Kenya. However, when India was negotiating through a turbulent relationship with China, Mrs. Gandhi re-instated Pant in her cabinet as the Officer on Special Duty with the Minister of External Affairs. "The Indians in East Africa brought India with them and kept it inviolate," chronicles IndoTrinidadian writer VS Naipaul. During the 1982 Kenyan coup d'ĂŠtat attempt to remove President Moi, dozens of Asian shops and businesses in Nairobi were pillaged. Asian women were raped by rioters whilst homes were vandalized. However, on 22nd July 2017, the government headed by Uhuru Kenyatta announced that the Asian community will be officially recognised as the 44th tribe in Kenya. One of the proudest moments for the Indian diaspora, this latest declaration by Uhuru Kenyatta recognises the community's contribution to Kenya.
Asian Voice & Gujarat Samachar 2019 - Kenya Special
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Migration to Kenya Forgotten chapters of India's history
ndia's history for the western world begins from the time when Vasco da Gama landed at Calicut port over 500 years ago. His discovery of India is often credited for the country being pegged on the world map today. But this is just a slice of India's historical foundation. It must be remembered that Vasco Da Gama would not have reached India if it weren't for Indian merchants and sailors he had met at Malindi port in Mombasa, present day Kenya. Records suggest that the Portuguese explorer was assissted by Ram Singh Malam, a pilot, an
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Vasco Da Gama
IT MUST BE REMEMBERED THAT VASCO DA GAMA WOULD NOT HAVE REACHED INDIA IF IT WEREN'T FOR INDIAN MERCHANTS AND SAILORS HE HAD MET AT MALINDI PORT IN MOMBASA, PRESENT DAY KENYA.
architect, and a navigator of Gujarati origin who took his fleet to the trade center of Calicut. This sea route to India allowed Portugal to establish a rich trade with India and southeast Asia. Da Gama's story serves testimony to the fact that Indian immigrants were and continue to migrate to other continents, and some gradually settled in foreign countries as well. Some historians have stated that the first wave of Asian Voice & Gujarat Samachar 2019 - Kenya Special
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migration of Indians could have possibly been towards South-East Asia and may have occurred when Emperor Ashoka invaded Kalinga. Eventually, this facilitated further interaction and dialogue between Indian traders and South Asian merchants. It was somewhere during the 1000 BC to 1 BC that the Brahmins began migrating from India. This resulted in Indianised colonies in Southeast Asia, where elements of Indian culture continue to dominate the country's tourist attractions. The presence of Gujarati sailors and merchants in the late 15th century as recorded by Vasco da Gama provides a contradiction to the belief that the British were instrumental in helping Indians establish across the African continent.
KUTCHI BUSINESSMAN AND THE SULTANATE OF OMAN By the early 19th century, small numbers of Indian merchants were settled at several successful trading ports of East Africa. They were particularly supported by Said bin Sultan, the Sultan of Muscat and Oman. The Sultan allowed for the emergence of British naval supremacy in the Indian Ocean and directed British political support for Indian merchants along the East African coast. Additionally, he also adopted a series of favourable policies towards Indians in the region. Although, it has not been many extensively written about, but the Sultans of Oman and Zanzibar were reported to be heavily dependent on Kutchi businessmen. Many of them were even in debt of Mundra-based banker and merchant, Jairam Shivji. Following Shivji's death in 1867, the Sultans owed a massive debt worth $600,000. A Kutchi Bhatia, Shivji had established a consolidated trading and banking route between Mandvi, Mundra, Bombay, Muscat, and Zanzibar in the 18th and 19th centuries. Following heightened tensions and increasing debt, some British consuls were forced to intervene between the two parties. Ultimately, the conflict was put to rest and the debt was reduced to $200,000. It should be noted that Kutchi Bhatias were the among the
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Aina Mahal in Bhuj, Kutch, designed by architect and navigator Ram Singh Malam
in maintaining their ledgers and accounts. Proud of their heritage, they were true to their language, dress, and religious customs. This resulted in a large number of Bhatias migrating from Kutch to Muscat and from Muscat to Zanzibar. It is also believed that Sultan Said transferred his capital following the advice of Shivji Jairam's father Shivji Topan.
MERCHANT PRINCES OF EAST AFRICA By the end of the 18th and beginning of the 19th century, quite a few Indians, particularly Gujaratis, Said bin Sultan, the Sultan of Muscat and Oman systematically settled down in Africa. A Kutchi trader named Jivanjee Budhabhoy came to East first ones to install a rather Africa in 1825 and settled in sophisticated commercial Zanzibar. He established a small infrastructure including marine trading firm that soon grew into a insurance, the hundi system for merchant empire. Eventually he was monetary transactions and succeeded by his three sons, Mahajans at overseas ports. They Pirbhoy, Karimjee, and Esmailjee. were largely based in port towns While the brothers separated such as Mandvi, Mundra, in 1861, Karimjee set up his Veraval, Ghogha, and own business of THE SULTAN OF Porbandar, from commodities where they coMUSCAT AND OMAN ALLOWED exporting such as ivory, copra, ordinated their FOR THE EMERGENCE OF BRITISH groundnuts, cereals, commercial activities beyond NAVAL SUPREMACY IN THE INDIAN beeswax, and cloves from the seas. OCEAN AND DIRECTED BRITISH Zanzibar and East The ports at POLITICAL SUPPORT FOR INDIAN African mainland to Mandvi and Mundra served as MERCHANTS ALONG THE EAST India. The business soon flourished and gateways to extend AFRICAN COAST. was handed over to his trade and operations three grandsons who with East African ports. managed it extremely well. The Reflecting their Kshatriya company had established trade caste, their ships often had arms connections with European and ammunition to stave away businesses, but by then Karimjee perils of the high seas. The Kutchis had passed away in 1898. are always known to be methodical
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Karimjee Hall in memory of Karimjee Budhabhoy Gradually, the company expanded in early 1900s and initiated investments in the agricultural indurstry. It acquired various diverse agencies from Deutsche Ost-Afrika to Eagle Star Insurance and Faber pencils, among others. The Karimjee Jivanjee Estates was formed in 1939 and flagged a turning point appeared for the family in 1943 when the parent company, Karimjee Jivanjee & Co Ltd. moved its Head Office from Zanzibar to Dar es Salaam. This was followed after the formation of International Motor Mart and Karimjee Jivanjee Properties. By 1959, the family of Kutchi Dawoodi Bohras had grown their businesses across the agricultural industry and they represented numerous major international manufacturers of industrial and consumer products. Additionally, they also were in association with two major insurance companies and nine international shipping lines. But they have also played a major role in shaping the political and economic history of East Africa for over two hundred years. But the Karimjee family is only one of them.
finding work with prominent local trader Sewa Haji Paroo, an active financier of caravan trade, he soon branched out and started organising his own caravans into the interiors of Africa. Visram achieved significant commercial success after entering into ivory trade when he came up with the idea of providing packaged foods to hunters on expedition. After the death of Paroo, in 1897, he expanded his caravan trade across Uganda, Kenya, and parts of Congo Free State and Southern Sudan. He later moved beyond trade into other businesses, pegging his name as the 'King of Ivory' in Africa. He is most popular for opening stores along the rail tracks during the construction of the Ugandan railway, and became the sole supplier food packages and meals to Indian workers fundamental in the engineering and construction of the project.
Gradually, he was awarded a contract by British engineers, to pay salaries to Indian workers and simultaneously provide funds to the British contractors. The Ugandan Railway was a massive project undertaken by the British. Over 36,000 Indians were recruited for the construction of the line connecting Mombasa to Nairobi. Each worker was employed and slaved to a written contract. The formal documentation was binding upon all enslaved workers for a minimum period of three years with a meager salary of Rs 12 per month, with free rations and a return passage to their place of enlistment. 2493 workers died during the construction process between 1895 and 1903. While most of the survivors returned to India, 6724 decided to remain settled in the country even after the line's completion, creating a community of
THE KING OF IVORY AND THE UGANDAN RAILWAY Born in Kutch, in 1851, Alidina Visram migrated to Zanzibar at the age of 12 with hardly any finances to support him. After Asian Voice & Gujarat Samachar 2019 - Kenya Special
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first of which was opened at Entebbe in 1910. He purchased raw cotton in Uganda and processed it in his ginning factories and shipped the pure cotton by railway for Mombasa to be exported in Bombay. Visram was also known for his generosity and humility. Around 1907, he was friends with Kings, Kabakas, Chiefs, Ministers, Envoys, Generals and Admirals. Given the title of 'Varas', Visram was without a doubt, a Kutchi who added to the East African economy.
Alidina Visram Indians in East Africa. Meanwhile, by 1904, Visram began working with governments to expand businesses and develop agriculture. He built over 70 branches, a vast commercial empire, stretching from the wilderness of Kenya and Uganda. He had seven large plantations, mainly planted different varieties of sugar cane and rubber with experimental plots of grams, fruits, flowers, tea, and cotton. He employed a fleet of over 3000 workers for his projects. He also owned several ginneries, the
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FOUNDATION OF ARYA SAMAJ IN KENYA The legacy of such individuals was followed by the establishment of the Arya Samaj which was founded in Nairobi in 1903. A small group of members planned for the establishment of the centre and laid its foundation for the first Arya Samaj building in East Africa. Today, a massive seven-storeyed building stands on the property. With the increase in population of Indian migrants, the need for educational facilities grew, and Arya Samaj
began the first school for girls in Nairobi in 1910. They grew into three more schools, which were open to students of all races. It also maintained a crematorium, held evening classes for adults, and started a Hindi class for indigenous Kenyans in 1950. By 1963, there were over 180,000 people of Asian-origin in East Africa alone. 10 per cent of them were Pakistanis, while 90 per cent were Indians. 10 per cent of the Indians, were Punjabis, while another 10 per cent were Goans, and the remaining 70 per cent were from Gujarat. 50 per cent of the Gujaratis were Hindus. While Muslims were small in numbers, the community efforts of Ismaili Khojas, Dawoodi Bohras, and Ishamaris were mammoth-sized.
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Uasin Gishu Primary School, Eldoret
From Eldoret to England the WAY they MADE it THE BEAUTIFUL TOWN OF ELDORET IS LOCATED IN WESTERN KENYA. ELDORET, WITH ITS UNIQUE HIGH-ALTITUDE CONDITIONS IS ALSO AN INTERNATIONAL TRAINING DESTINATION FOR LONG DISTANCE RUNNERS. IT WAS FROM THIS VERY TOWN THAT THE MARATHON JOURNEY OF BROTHERS BHIKHU AND VIJAY PATEL BEGAN. A RACE FROM TRAGEDY AND HARDSHIP TO SUCCESS AND PHILANTHROPY WITH THEIR WIDOWED MOTHER AS MENTOR, COACH AND BEACON. A JOURNEY THAT WOULD TAKE THEM LATER TO ENGLAND AND ESTABLISH THEM AS ONE OF THE UK'S HIGHLY CELEBRATED SUCCESS STORIES. n the early 1900s, Eldoret saw a huge arrival of European and Asian inhabitants and traders. The extension of the Uganda Railway, from Kibigori toward Uganda, reached Eldoret in the year 1924, unleashing a period of prosperity and development. It was against this backdrop that the founders of Waymade Plc, Bhikhu and Vijay Patel’s father arrived in Eldoret in 1953. He had arrived in Kenya in 1937 and worked in several places before moving from Nairobi to Eldoret. Having arrived with, what was back then a valuable matriculation qualification, he found work as a clerk to a timber
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merchants. Their mother Shantaba, who was born in Nar in Gujarat, who they fondly refer to as Ba, accompanied her husband along with her two sons and daughter Manjulaben to Eldoret. Recalls Bhikhu, “Mother has always been a source of inspiration to us. She had to make an arduous journey in a crowded dhow from Gujarat to Mombasa braving stormy seas.” Adds Vijay, “Dad did send her enough money to make the journey comfortably by boat but the money which was sent through a middleman never made it to her. So, she had to endure a harsh journey in a humble dhow.”
Their entrepreneurial father established a book store and a bicycle shop in Nairobi. In 1956 he set up a successful timber business selling to Mombasa, Kampala and the Middle East. Recalls Vijay, “We had a comfortable middle-class life and lived in a three-room apartment as people did in that part of the world.”
TRAGEDY STRIKES Not very long into his business, tragedy struck. Says Bhikhu, “Dad passed away suddenly in 1956 of a heart attack at the age of forty two leaving behind a young Shantaba, daughter Manjula aged 11, Bhikhu aged 9 and Vijay aged 7. That was very hard for us because dad was our pillar of strength who we leaned on for support. I can vividly remember an uncle telling me at his funeral that with dad's passing away, I was now the man of the family and I was not to cry in front of my mother.” Adds Vijay, “As soon as dad died our income virtually dried up and our lifestyle changed drastically. We moved from a Asian Voice & Gujarat Samachar 2019 - Kenya Special
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comfortable apartment to a small one room accommodation – the kitchen was in the same room. It was from then on that our mother's vision, courage, determination and hard work began playing a huge role in the destiny of our lives.”
Bhikhu Patel Co-Chairman, Waymade PLC
INDEFATIGABLE BA In order to generate an income and provide for the family Ba started a little nursery school out of their one-room accommodation. After a while, in 1957, a kind landlord offered them a room from which to run the nursery. Recall the brothers, “Although our possessions were very basic - just one pair of shoes, two shirts and two pairs of shorts – we never missed the luxuries of life. We had enough food and most importantly we were never short of love and in many ways led a sheltered life. From an early age mother instilled in us the importance of education although we did not have the means to pay for our education. She arranged private tuitions for us with a kind Goan teacher who didn't charge us.”
EMPHASIS ON EDUCATION AND HARD WORK Undeterred by the daunting circumstances the brothers decided to make it their goal to pursue two things – a good education and hard work – goals they were to single mindedly pursue all their lives. At the age of 9 Bhikhu was working weekends at a clothes store in Eldoret called Harji Kara and Sons. Says Bhikhu, “I was a bright child and at the age of twelve was giving tuitions from home to younger children to earn a little money.” Later, during summer holidays and vacations he worked at a lawyer's having learned to type. 'I could type blindfolded,' quips Bhikhu. Vijay was different. “I was always a salesman and honed my selling skills at Harji Kara,” he says with a wry smile. Bhikhu also went on to try his hand at a photographer's where he learnt to develop and print pictures. Despite lacking the finer comforts of life there was never a dull moment in their lives. At school Bhikhu was a regular at cricket, volleyball and athletics. Being a natural leader and exceptionally bright, his friends looked up to Bhikhu who came through with
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“
IN THOSE DAYS IT COST ME A SHILLING TO GO TO THE CINEMA WHICH I COULDN'T AFFORD. MY FRIENDS WOULD POOL MONEY TO BUY ME A TICKET AND AN ICE-CREAM LOLLY.
”
flying colours at the Kenya Preliminary Exams. Four years later he completed secondary school and the equivalent of 'O' levels from Uasin Gishu High School at Eldoret. Aged seventeen he started work at Standard Chartered Bank, Eldoret. During this time, he had the choice of taking up Kenyan citizenship and continue working in Kenya or go to England. Says Bhikhu, ' My main aim was to pursue full time studies but there were no grants to cover university fees. Also combining work and studies in Kenya was not feasible.” So, he worked for a year in the bank and saved enough money to go to England with the sole aim of studying full time and working part-time.
ENGLAND, 1966 Never one to idle his time, Bhikhu's foremost aim upon arriving in England in 1966 was to find work which he did in a factory in Queensbury that assembled gramophones. Three months later he got a job as a tester at Goodman's, Wembley, which manufactured loudspeakers. Later he enrolled at Kilburn Polytechnic, Colindale to do 'A' levels. The Polytechnic was to shut down in August 1991. Later he found work at a fish and chip shop which was situated opposite Copeland School in Wembley. He recalls, “Although I
was born in a traditional vegetarian Hindu family, I had no qualms about handling fish, chicken and meat because I was bent upon earning my keep. My mother knew about the nature of my job, but she is a pragmatic person and didn't mind.” The owner of the shop, Mr Harry Land, was from Tanzania and had high regard for the work ethics of the Indian community due to his interaction with them in Africa. Working long hours, Bhikhu would wind up at 1 am and make an hour's trek home because he could not afford a taxi. Says Bhikhu, “Racism was rampant then and I was often called a Paki and beaten up. So, I decided to quit the job, but Mr Land offered to pay my taxi fare. He wouldn't let me go because he trusted me and my work ethic.” Fortunately for Bhikhu he was able to live at his sister's home in Preston Hill in North West London. 'That provided a family environment and my sister's husband Arvind Kumar and his brother Bhaskarbhai constantly encouraged me to concentrate on my studies,” says Bhikhu. Come Sunday afternoons he would lock himself in his room, immersed in his studies.
AT UNIVERSITY Having excelled at his 'A' levels Bhikhu found a place at several universities. After three years of
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helped a friend in his shop and his warehouse.
Vijay Patel OBE Co-Chairman, Waymade PLC
AN EARLY AGE “FROM MOTHER INSTILLED IN US THE IMPORTANCE OF EDUCATION. ”
residency he qualified for a university grant and began sevenyear qualifications in architecture at Bristol University. While his friends went on skiing trips Bhikhu continued to slog at the fish and chip shop. To gain practical experience in architecture he worked for a year at the Department of Environment in Croydon. He earned his degree in 1973 and also gained a diploma in architecture. Says Bhikhu, “It was only at that time did I have money to spend. Till then it was a hand-to-mouth existence. I managed my finances so well that even my affluent friends would borrow money from me and return it in instalments. Weekends
were spent watching plays, going to the discos, listening to the Beatles, The Rolling Stones and having a few beers,' says Bhikhu.
FRIENDS Bhikhu has fond memories of his childhood friends, from Kenya; especially Ashok, Dipak Hindocha, Dinker and Rajnibhai Bhatt and their brothers with who he is in touch to this day. Recalls Bhikhu, “In those days it cost me a shilling to go to the cinema which I couldn't afford. My friends would pool money to buy me a ticket and an ice-cream lolly. They did this for so many years that I took their kindness for granted.” We supported each other and I
FIRST STEPS INTO PHARMACY Vijay arrived in Britain from Kenya at the age of 16 with just £5, a handful of O-levels and a fierce determination to succeed in life. After graduating from De Montfort University in Leicester, in 1975 he opened his first pharmacy in Leighon- Sea, Essex. By 1982 he owned six shops and sales had doubled. Bhikhu joined the business at this stage to give much-needed help to the greatly increased workload generated by rapid growth. Over the next two decades the business grew organically into a chain of 18 retail pharmacies. Says Vijay, 'The secret to our success was our excellent customer service. We would even serve customers during late nights.” The brothers disposed off the retail chain to Boots in 2001 but retained the very first pharmacy which they had started until 2016.
THE WAYMADE PLC FAMILY The brothers established Waymade PLC more than 30 years ago as a pharmaceutical wholesaler and distributor. Since then, Waymade PLC has grown rapidly and expanded into complimentary products and services, and at its peak it generated over £300m in sales. In 2013, Vijay sold the wholesale part of the business. Today Waymade focuses on generic medicines and pharmaceutical logistics. They established branded pharmaceutical company Amdipharm in 2003 which sold products in over 100 countries. The business was sold to a private equity company in 2012.
WAYMADE CAPITAL
WHERE BHIKHU AND VIJAY'S JOURNEY TO HIGHER EDUCATION BEGAN
Uasin Gishu Secondary School, Eldoret
Waymade Capital, the Family Office of Bhikhu and Vijay, is the investment vehicle of the Waymade Group. It encompasses Pharma, Property, Private Equity and Philanthropy. Atnahs and Waymade PLC form the pharmaceutical division of Waymade Capital. Atnahs Pharma is a global pharmaceutical business with presence in 130 countries. It concentrates on manufacturing and marketing of branded prescription medicines. Asian Voice & Gujarat Samachar 2019 - Kenya Special
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Waymade College of Education, Vallabh Vidyanagar, Gujarat. AN ENGLISH MEDIUM TEACHER TRAINING INSTITUTE AFFILIATED TO SARDAR PATEL UNIVERSITY AND MANAGED BY CHARUTAR VIDYA MANDAL.
PHILANTHROPY Bhikhu and Vijay have donated and worked to raise funds for a number of causes over the past 40 years. Their generosity spans a number of areas, including health, education, shelter, and establishing water wells and medical camps in India, Kenya and the UK. Set up in 2005 the Shanta Foundation, named after their mother, focuses on health, education and shelter. The Shree Krishna Hospital is an established modern hospital offering a wide range of services to patients at affordable prices or at no charge for those without any means to pay. The hospital was very short of critical care beds. This resulted in complication to patients’ health or even death. The Shanta Foundation supported the building of the 102 bedded Waymade Critical Care Centre. It is the largest critical care facility in Gujarat, India. They have made immense
TRANSFORMING LIVES WITH A HOPE AND A FUTURE IN SIERRA LEONE 16
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contribution to education which includes Waymade School of Opthalmic Studies and two schools in Wankaner, Gujarat, Waymade College of Education in Vallabh Vidyanagar, Gujarat and Mitra School for Children with Special Needs in Mogri, Gujarat. In 2016 Vijay and his wife Smita donated £1 million to the Leicester based De Montfort University where they both studied pharmacy. In 2018 Bhikhu, an alumnus of the University of Bristol, and his wife Shashi donated £1million towards creating the Temple Quarter Enterprise Campus (TQEC) at the University. As a gesture of gratitude, the brothers founded the Lions School in Eldoret. Says Bhikhu, “Vijay and I are the beneficiaries of a first-class education right up to High School with total remission due to our
Home Leone Housing Project
humble circumstances. This debt of gratitude is what drove us to provide education in Eldoret to those less fortunate.” The school was opened in 2004 and is managed by the Lions Club of Eldoret. Currently there are several hundred students at the school, and this is funded locally by the Lions Club and other institutions.
PASSING ON THE MANTLE SAYS BHIKHU, “OVER THE PAST 40 YEARS VIJAY AND I HAVE SOUGHT TO BUILD BUSINESSES IN HEALTHCARE THAT SERVE THE LOCAL COMMUNITY AND EMPLOY PEOPLE LOCALLY. WE ARE DELIGHTED THAT OUR CHILDREN AND THEIR FAMILIES ARE TAKING ON THIS MANTLE. WE LOOK TO THEM TO CONTINUE OUR TRADITION OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP, TO INVEST IN THE LOCAL AND NATIONAL ECONOMY AND TO SUPPORT CHARITABLE CAUSES ACROSS THE WORLD.” BHIKHU AND SHASHI HAVE A SON RISHI WHO IS A PHARMACIST, AND TWO DAUGHTERS NIMISHA WHO IS A MEDICAL DOCTOR AND NEESHE, A LAWYER. VIJAY AND SMITA HAVE TWO SONS, AMIT A DOCTOR AND DIPEN A CHARTERED ACCOUNTANT.
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His grandparents and parents witnessed the bitter partition of India and the creation of Pakistan. The family had to endure the pain of forced displacement as they left the city of Amritsar and migrated to Lahore in newly created Pakistan. Owing to economic instability in Pakistan, the family decided to move to East Africa. Then, political instability meant that once again, the family had to move, this time to England.
SALEEM R SHEIKH,
SENIOR PARTNER, GSC SOLICITORS LLP
FROM KENYA TO PRE-EMINENCE IN THE UK Saleem Sheikh has scaled the heights of his profession at his legal firm GSC Solicitors LLP in London. He specialises in international and offshore structuring, arbitration and dispute resolution. Saleem advises private individuals and corporate clients whose business and personal interests are international in nature. Saleem trained with GSC Solicitors LLP, became a partner in 1985 and was appointed Senior Partner in 2001. He attended the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) from 1977 to 1980 and obtained a degree in law (LLB). He did his post-graduate degree at the College of Law (1980 to 1981) and qualified as a solicitor in 1983.
THE TRAUMA OF PARTITION Recalls Saleem, “Leaving behind friends, relatives, assets and a whole life was a traumatic experience, and just before partition my grandfather died. So, it was a very difficult phase for my family both emotionally and economically.” “My uncles, who were already in Kenya, namely, Saddique and Jamil Sheikh helped us to settle in Kenya.” “My father, Manzoor-Ul-Haq Sheikh was a senior civil servant in the British Government in Kenya before the Kenyan independence.” It was Manzoor’s education and experience in India helped him to secure a job in the government and
establish the family in Kenya. “My father was a graduate and post-graduate from the Government College in Lahore where he read English, Farsi and Economics, and he always wanted a good education for his children. Back then Kenya was a developing country, and had a fairly good English education system,” he recalls.
KENYAN INDEPENDENCE AND THEREAFTER Of all the East African countries, Kenya was one of the most developed. Saleem recollects Jomo Kenyatta's leadership and the freedom struggle that paralysed East Africa in the 60s. Asian Voice & Gujarat Samachar 2019 - Kenya Special
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“I remember going to town with my father for the first Independence Day celebrations and seeing Kenyan flags everywhere. There was euphoria in the country and people felt liberated. However, after the initial days of celebrations the nation began to realise the difficulties that lay ahead especially in terms of running administrative and infrastructure services,” he explains. In the early 1900s East Africa witnessed a significant influx of Asian migrants. They came predominantly as recruits of the British Government who were building the railways. Over the years, many Asians established themselves as successful businesses, giving them significant hegemony over the economy of the country. However, this gave rise to increasing hostility towards them from the native African community. Eventually, the demarcation and segregation of the settled immigrants followed with the process of 'Africanisation.' Saleem recollects the extreme hardship that his uncles had to endure during that time while managing their businesses. “My uncles, Sheikh Mohammed Bashir and Sheikh Abdul Rashid, were the first Asian hoteliers in Kenya. Earlier Asians were not allowed into hotels. It was a “whitesonly” domain. My uncle Bashir had gone to a hotel for a business meeting with a European businessman, but was denied entry on the grounds of being an Asian. It was then that my uncle resolved to buy the hotel someday, which he eventually did,” he recalls. A similar hostile climate prevailed in Uganda too. But, unlike Kenya, in Uganda people were forced to leave the country in 1971-72 by President Idi Amin. According to Saleem the exodus of Asians from Kenya was a “subtle political maneuver.” Unlike Uganda, they were presented with a choice between retaining either their British or Kenyan passports. Under President Amin's rule all Asians were forced to leave Uganda in 28 days. Says Saleem, “President Jomo Kenyatta was not as dictatorial as Idi Amin and many people decided to stay back. The Kenyan Asians left in a more orderly way, but regardless of that it was an exodus.” “We were presented with two options - either adopt a Kenyan passport and stay or retain our British passports and leave for the
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From left: Daughter Alia, Saleem, son Saqib, wife Ferial and daughter Sana. UK. My father’s decision to leave for the UK was mainly to get better education and security.” “I was born in Kenya. Life there was very comfortable. We had a lovely home and the family was well settled. But my father was looking at our long-term future. He knew that it would probably be uncertain, especially for the children if we stayed on in Kenya. Thus, in 1967 my father and my brother Shahid became the first members of the Sheikh family to leave Kenya and head to the UK.”
FIRST STEPS IN THE UK Manzoor left Kenya and migrated to the UK expecting to find a whitecollar job, given his education and experience. Saleem recalls the institutional racism that existed in the UK's in the late 60s and early 70s. Most Asians in the UK were slaving away in blue collar jobs but Manzoor managed to secure an administrative position in a large international hotel. “Having settled down, my father called us over, and initially my mother Hamida Begum Sheikh, along with myself and my siblings Shahnaz, Talaat and Aleem arrived in the UK. But my oldest brother, Iftikhar, who was General Sales Manager with Burroughs Welcome and his wife, Kishwar, stayed behind
to wind up our affairs and sell our home. My sister Azra was at University in Nairobi finishing her graduation. They joined us in London a few years later, so, our family migrated to the UK in phases,” he remembers. When he arrived in August 1967 Saleem imagined England to have picturesque landscapes, red buses and telephone boxes. However, in reality he was welcomed by large concrete buildings and the classic British weather: dull grey skies, and light rainfall. During the first few weeks adapting to British life was difficult. He recalls the occasional
From left: Saleem’s father Manzoor-Ul-Haq, cousin Haroon, brothers Iftikhar and Shahid and Saleem at 5 years of age in Kenya
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sunny days that were spent watching apples grow in the back garden of his house. “My father rented modest accommodation for us, but we were used to a relatively luxurious house with staff at our disposal to help my mother with her day-to-day domestic chores,” he explains. Saleem recalls moving home a few times. When they eventually settled down, he got a pla ce in a junior school in Isleworth. While Saleem was never bullied or discriminated against, he says that there did exist a certain hostility towards immigrants at the height of the Enoch Powell years and the Skinhead culture in the 70s. “When I joined school, I was probably the only Asian, and I was a complete alien to the other children. They didn't know where Kenya was to begin with. When I explained that I w as from Africa, they would ask me questions about Tarzan and jungles. I remember some of them asking me if people in Africa swung from trees!'”
PILOT OR PERRY MASON
career in law. “My uncle sparked my interest in law at a time when many Asians were studying accountancy, pharmacy and medicine. I remember him saying that a good lawyer was worth his weight in gold,'” he recalls. While reading law at the LSE in 1977, determined and hardworking, he recalls the hours spent in courtrooms where he drew inspiration from professionals who fought their legal battles. In the process, he learnt how to construct legal arguments from his professor Michael Xander's sessions on 'The wrongs of law'. When Saleem finished law school, it was time to find a job. This was the first time that he encountered discrimination as he felt that a number of doors at the larger law firms were closed to him. However, through perseverance, Saleem obtained a training contact in 1981, with GSC, then known as Green David Conway & Co. After qualifying in 1983, an ambitious Saleem sprinted up the legal ladder to become a partner at the firm within two years of qualification. “I was mentored by John Green, who was the senior partner of the firm at the time. He inspired me to become a leading lawyer in the growing Asian business community,” recalls Saleem.
Despite the difficult cultural and economic challenges, Saleem managed to pursue an academic career in law. As a child, he had dreamt of becoming a pilot. However, he decided to become a lawyer, which he thought would give him the opportunity to confront various injustices he had witnessed on his journey from Kenya to the UK. He recalls spending his early days watching TV shows such as Crown Court and Perry Mason and being intrigued by the dynamics of the courtroom. He was also encouraged by his father, Manzoor and uncle Saleem (third on the right) with his sister Shahnaz and brothers Bashir to pursue a Aleem and Talaat.
LEGAL PRE-EMINENCE Saleem is recognised in both the CityWealth Leaders List and the Legal 500 as being a prominent figure advising on succession and wealth planning. Throughout Saleem’s legal career he had to take on the role of educating clients to put proper documentation in place. ‘’As Asian businesses have grown, one of the common contentious areas within the community is the lack of contracts and documentation. The practice of many in our communities to rely on informal agreements among family members can lead to disastrous consequences in cases of a fall-out or a death” he says. Over time, Saleem’s role has morphed from that of a lawyer to becoming a trusted advisor, particularly to the Asian community, where disputes in the family related to wealth and inheritance have multiplied and family businesses disintegrate. He prescribes not just his legal medicine, but he is a trusted confidante and an emotional support to his clients. From advising about inter-generational wealth protection and succession to handling offshore and onshore structures, Saleem has been a guiding light to his clients. “Now, people are savvier about getting things documented and having a shareholders’ agreement in place. At the same time, I have also seen a considerable increase in the number of prenups being signed before marriage at a time when one in three people are getting divorced. So, there is an increased awareness around legal documentation in our community,” he explains. Saleem is a linguaphile and is well-versed in several languages including Urdu, Punjabi, Kiswahili, Kachhi, Hindi, Gujerati and French. He has international clients who have assets and business interests in the UK, Sub-Saharan Africa, India, Pakistan, GCC Region, CIS countries, China and North America. He is a member of the International Bar Association and the London Court of International Arbitration. He is also an Associate of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators. Saleem was also the winner of ‘Entrepreneurial Individual of the Year’ in the Magic Circle Awards 2017, the most significant award in the legal sector. He is on the list of 100 Power Muslim that comprises of people who have the influence, hold significant power and who have achieved excellence within their sector. Saleem is married to Ferial who is also a graduate from the LSE and a lawyer, and has three children. His son Saqib who is a graduate from Boston University, runs his own businesses. His daughter Sana, a law graduate from Cambridge University, followed in her father’s footsteps working as an associate solicitor at GSC Solicitors looking after firm’s private client base as well as leading on GSC’s Next Generation programme. Saleem’s youngest daughter Alia who is a graduate from LSE and Imperial College London, works as a senior management consultant at Ernst & Young.
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‘The world is my school’ Lord Ranbir Singh Suri’s journey from
Mombasa to London
A LORD. A POLITICIAN. AN ADVISOR. A BUSINESSMAN. LORD RANBIR SINGH SURI, A SELF-MADE MAN OF DIVERSE TALENTS, HAILS FROM THE COASTAL CITY OF MOMBASA, KENYA BUT WAS BORN IN UNDIVIDED BRITISH INDIA, IN AN AREA NOW CALLED PAKISTAN. BORN IN 1935, LORD SURI AND HIS FAMILY THEN MOVED TO EAST AFRICA AND SUBSEQUENTLY TO THE UNITED KINGDOM IN 1974- A COUNTRY WHICH HE NOW CALLS AS HIS ‘HOME’. ALMOST HALF A CENTURY INTO LIVING IN LONDON, LORD SURI MAPS OUT THE CRESTS, TROUGHS AND PLATEAUS WHICH ENABLED HIM TO SHAPE HIS PUBLIC AND POLITICAL LIFE. 20
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“I did not go to university and had the fortune of studying only up to higher secondary school,” the 84-year-old Baron reveals. Whilst he may not have had the good fortune of pursuing further studies at university, education he believes is not limited to any institution. Recalling the time when he had been invited to attend the inauguration of the Mahatma Gandhi University Academy by the then Indian President Dr. S. K. Radhakrishnan, Lord Suri follows his philosophy of keeping an “open mind”. “I learn every day, not at university but from day to day affairs and the world is my school,” he says simply. He reminisces how Dr. Radhakrishnan quoted one word, from Swahili, a word that according to the former Indian President, did not have a parallel in world languages. That word was ‘Hodi’. “He said it was equal to 27 spoken words. It means- ‘a person who comes knocking at your door seeking admission’. Since, then I started teaching myself,” divulges the Baron. His education was not just restricted to textbooks but included public speeches, working with communities,actively participating in religious organisations and serving the common good. From becoming a general secretary to Siri Guru Singh Sabha Mombasa, the first ever Gurudwara in Africa, in 1969 to later being elected as the youngest ever chairman of the same organisation in his 30s, they bore to interest in serving his people from a very young age. “At that time, I wanted to modernize everything, get learned speakers for community events and educate people and I remember elderly people in Swahili calling me ‘toto’ meaning child?’ he laughed off. This knowledge combined with his entrepreneurial skills and the need to serve society led him to venture into the business of education where he started his own bookshop by supplying educational
materials across the coast. ‘Suris Bookshop’ would import 90% of the educational materials from the UK and remaining from India, supplying not just to local schools and private institutions but individual students as well. The only principle driving the shop and his owner ahead: “You name it and I will get it for you!” But conducting business in Kenya was not an easy affair, and more so for someone like Lord Suri who had a British passport all his life and needed to secure the Kenyan license to continue with his trade. Perhaps, this marks as one of the smallest but a significant reason for his first visit to the UK in 1968 as part of his one-month getaway to the European countries. While curiosity guided him across Glasgow and London, Lord Suri spent quite a lot of his last two weeks meeting people of the communities, visiting Gurudwaras, assessing the quality of life and understanding the culture.
“I had established my business by corresponding with the suppliers through letters detailing the products and specifying the quantities in which I needed them. “And then for a couple of years I established my contacts within the British suppliers, started receiving credit from almost all the big companies like McMillan, Longmans Green and Co, William Collins among others,” he discloses the trajectory of his first ever business venture which he later sold off to his friend prior to settling down in the UK in 1974. But between leaving Kenya and starting a new life in London, Lord Suri cemented a more active political life after the UK Parliament repealed the Immigration Bill where the British asked a lot of Indians who were settled in Kenya to prove their identities. It presented a big challenge to the Indian community in Kenya. Lord Suri played a pivotal role in this moment of crisis as the Vice Chairman of the Indian Association, a political organisation supported by the Indian Congress. “I gathered various members contemplating how best to tackle the pressing matter. The idea that I mooted then was that these Indians were brought in by the British East India Company as labourers in Kenya for the construction of railways. Therefore, they are ultimately the responsibility of the British Government and not that of India,” he explained. They collectively approached the British Government through the British High Commissioner in Kenya and the Home Office appointed
I GATHERED VARIOUS MEMBERS CONTEMPLATING HOW BEST TO TACKLE THE PRESSING MATTER. THE IDEA THAT I MOOTED THEN WAS THAT THESE INDIANS WERE BROUGHT IN BY THE BRITISH EAST INDIA COMPANY AS LABOURERS IN KENYA FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF RAILWAYS. THEREFORE, THEY ARE ULTIMATELY THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT AND NOT THAT OF INDIA.
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wasn’t trying to put me off, he was just being realistic,’” he laughed. At that time, he recalls, not many Indians were involved in trade and hardly any Indian shops existed at the High Street. But Lord Suri was determined to accept the challenge and bought his first shop in the UK at Slough High Street. “Now they (the manager) are so happy to come and deal with this. In fact, we have more white customers than our Indian ones!” he remarks proudly of his achievements. Over the years, the Lord has Lord and Lady Suri with switched from his business in former Prime Miister of UK, garments to a wholesale empire in Margaret Thatcher accessories and costume jewellery. Aside from establishing a financial career, he championed a political lifestyle in advisory positions of various government appointments including – Value Added Taxation & Duties Tribunal, H. M. Prison Pentonville and was also a Home Office advisory council on race relations among others. The brightest feather in his hat would undoubtedly date back to 2014 when he got elected as the peer of House of Lords when in his maiden speech he said"Little did I know back in 1974 when I emigrated from Kenya to the UK, that I would be bestowed with this great honour to work Lord Ranbir Suri with former alongside your Lordships to Prime Minister of India, continue contributing towards Dr. Manmohan Singh building a cohesive multi-cultural society in this country. I am humbled to join this House and but the imperial country presented three-four correspondents in family, which strive to represent the to him challenges and served him Tanzania, Uganda, Nairobi and Lord diversity of the population in this experiences that he discusses about Suri was responsible for handling great nation." even today. On his arrival, the Mombasa in Nairobi. Having done From advocating for prisoners House of Lords peer had considered his bit for the community after mental health to arguing for citizen’s experimenting with his business successfully assisting numerous rights, Lord Suri has received options. families in their relocation to constant support from his wife Lady “We wanted to buy a boutique London, he himself moved to Tarlochan Suri. Celebrating their 63 for ladies’ garments and so I, London more out of safety concerns years of marriage, he has four approached an agent. But then the than any other reason. children including three sons who manager who was dealing with the And the rest they say is history. look after his business and a business told me- ‘If you’re standing Adapting to the western culture may daughter who is well settled in not have been as difficult at the counter Mr. Suri then no Norwich. He doesn’t travel as often considering the Baron’s young age customer is going to come. He to Kenya given the exhaustion that the journey can cause. However, time and again members from the WE WANTED TO BUY A BOUTIQUE FOR LADIES’ GARMENTS AND SO I, APPROACHED community who continue to live AN AGENT. BUT THEN THE MANAGER WHO WAS DEALING WITH THE BUSINESS TOLD there seek his presence at ME- ‘IF YOU’RE STANDING AT THE COUNTER MR. SURI THEN NO CUSTOMER IS GOING important occasions. He sends in his regards to his 'home' and hopes to TO COME. HE WASN’T TRYING TO PUT ME OFF, HE WAS JUST BEING REALISTIC. continue serving the community there all the way from London.
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De-constructing Vraj Pankhania's heritage : Politics, charity and the brain drain from India
BACK IN THE 1900S WHEN INDIA WAS STILL A COLONY OF THE BRITISH RAJ AND INDIANS WERE AT THE MERCY OF THE EAST INDIA COMPANY, POPATBHAI PANKHANIA WAS HONING HIS CRAFTSMANSHIP IN THE SMALL VILLAGE OF PATELKA. BEING STUCK IN THE RUT OF DESIGNING TRADITIONAL AND VICTORIAN DOORS, HANDICRAFTS AND CARTWHEELS, POPATBHAI PANKHANIA DECIDED TO BRANCH OUT WITH HIS SKILLS AND VENTURE TO THE AFRICAN SHORES IN ORDER TO EARN HIS EVERYDAY LIVING. ALTHOUGH, NOT EDUCATED IN THE TRADITIONAL SENSE, PANKHANIA WAS BLESSED WITH THE 'WISDOM OF THE CROWD' AND TODAY IN HINDSIGHT, HIS GRANDSON VRAJ PANKHANIA TRACES HIS FAMILY ANCESTRY AND TALKS ABOUT THE BLEND OF RICH HERITAGE INHERITED FROM THE CULTURAL HOTSPOTS OF INDIA, KENYA AND FINALLY THE UK. 24
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Vraj Pankhani with his family
“MY GRANDFATHER'S CRAFTSMANSHIP AND JOURNEY TO EAST AFRICA” “Perhaps, my grandfather was aware of the trading route operating since the 16th century from India via Muscat to East Africa at Mombasa and eventually to Zanzibar (Tanzania). Therefore, to explore his options outside of India, he decided to hop onto a carriage to take him from the small village of Patelka to Porbandar in the early 1900s,” wonders Vraj Pankhania. But Porbandar was just another stop for him with East Africa being his ultimate destination and with that intent and courage Popatbhai boarded a dhow from Porbandar and eventually ended up in Zanzibar at a time when Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania were unilaterally ruled as a single country by the British colony. It was perhaps, under the British rule that infrastructure in East Africa was at its peak with the establishment of the East African Railways and this project became the starting point for Pankhania to settle his roots in East
Africa. “Eventually when he saw growing opportunities, he decided to settle in Nairobi,” explains Vraj. While, in the age of wi-fi and 5G connectivity this may sound a simple journey, but Vraj describes of the anecdotes he has heard of the arduous journeys that countless Indians had undertaken in those days merely in the hopes of living a better life. Right from the dependence on the direction of the winds for the dhows to cross the oceans to the days when they would be on a standstill for months owing to impoverished weather conditions. As a result of which, Vraj explains how many people had fallen sick on the journey without access to clean water and food and unfortunately, some didn't even reach their destination. “There was no end to suffering in the initial days...East Africa was infested with mosquitos and the financial conditions were so difficult that they used to live cramped lives with 10-15 people living together in one room. But more importantly, there was no system of money transfer. So, sending money back to
his family was always niggling at the back of his mind,” Vraj says. Perhaps, it was the thought of his son Parshottam Pankhania, and his family with three children back home in Gujarat that became the reason for him to travel back to India and bring his son to East Africa along with himself. “In those days, people got married at a very early age and my father was already married to my mother Jashoda and had three children- two daughters and a son who were born in India,” he reminisces. Eventually, his father was well settled in Nairobi where he had started working independently with small construction companies. Despite not being qualified in the trade, he had inherited the skill and craft of construction and carpentry from his father and established himself as a construction foreman in East Africa. “My father learnt from scratch and after ensuring a stable economic position, he went back to India to bring his wife and children. Eventually, the family was very well settled in Kenya, and me and my Asian Voice & Gujarat Samachar 2019 - Kenya Special
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EMIGRATION, INTEGRATION AND BLUE COLLARED JOBS
other siblings were born and educated in Nairobi. So, the thought of travelling back to India to settle there never arose,” Vraj recalls.
“Initially when my elder brother Manoj arrived to the UK, he was studying Mechanical Engineering at a university in London and was renting a 3BHK apartment in Blackheath. Following my brother's footsteps, my brother Dhiraj decided to come here as well,” Vraj recalls. However, worsening political climate in Africa where they constantly lived under the blanket of fear, made Vraj's parents decide to move to the UK as well. Perhaps, it was good fortune or destiny but his parents happened to hold British passports and this allowed all the children to enter England under the new system of visa applications introduced by the British Government in the late 1960s and early 1970s. “My eldest brother's friend was kind enough to vacate part of the aparment for us when we had first arrived. So, at least we had a roof over our head. “But London has always been an expensive city and in order to support sustenance, all of us started working since the very beginning. I started working as a salesman during the day while attended the evening school where I studied about the print industry,” Vraj explains.
ROAD TO INDEPENDENCE AND THE BEGINNING OF 'AFRICANISATION'
Vraj Pankhania with Shailesh Vara
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Whilst the thought of returning to India never sedimented in the family, the political conditions in East Africa were also worsening. Kenya like its neighbouring countries Tanzania and Uganda had been battling against the British colonisation, and had finally attained independence from the Colonial Raj on 12th December 1964. But the road to freedom was filled with obstacles of tyranny, oppression and an implicit persecution of Asians. They were presented with the options of either going back to India or adopting the African culture and identity. “As a 12-year-old, I remember the Mau Mau Uprising...security was paralysed to the degree that people started living behind locked doors with guard dogs manning their entrances,” he whispers. Although, he has vague recollections of the struggle in the 1960s now, Vraj particularly remembers the clashes in Ngara, an area they lived in, where houses were constantly surrounded by the British Army. But, even amidst heightened security concerns, Vraj recalls how his father had ensured that his children received the best of education. While he was completing his form four at a local school, his
older brother Manoj decided to pursue his higher education in the UK. Perhaps, this move can be flagged as yet another transition period in the uphill trajectory of the Pankhanias' kingdom in which Manoj was fortunate to have escaped the brunt of Africanisation. “Freedom for Kenya came with a price for Asians who were treated as “inferiors” or rather “second-class citizens” to the native Black population. But, tensions started brewing especially in the business and financial sector which until independence was pre-dominantly in the reins of Asian entrepreneurs, and something that did not settle comfortably with the Africans. “As a consequence, Kenya witnessed a historic emigration of thousands of professionals and small traders since independence and particularly in 1967-68,” Vraj explains. Today, sitting at the top floor of his London Office, Vraj talks about Kenya's current political and economic conditions, half a century later. He describes it as the “Horn of Africa” flourishing with investment from leading British and African organisations. But, even so, almost his entire family is now settled in the UK ever since he first arrived in the country sometime in the late 1960s.
CARS, CORNER SHOPS, CRAFT AND CONSTRUCTION : FORD ANGLIA FOR £50 Having virtually no guidance Vraj describes his initial days in the
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UK where he seemed to be lost in a maze of trying to climb greater heights but neither had the road carved out for him nor a GPS to help him out of the jungle. But carving was a craft that he had inherited from his forefathers and although he dabbled in trades of all sorts, from setting up a printing press to dealing in cars, he experimented and benefitted the most by transforming derelict buildings. “I was studying about the printing press and scouting for properties where we could live and simultaneously establish a printing press of our own. But construction and craftsmanship was a gift that I had been bestowed upon from my forefathers and it became extremely useful for us when we found our first house at 5 Station Crescent near
Blackheath,” he reminisces. Vraj's eyes lights up when he talks about heritage and old buildings, even today as he shares tales of afternoons when the family had tirelessly toiled for hours in converting the 4BHK property into a home with a corner shop at the top and a printing press in the
basement,. However, one of the lesser known facts about Vraj is his love for cars. Recalling of his 20year-old young and dynamic-self, he talks about the purchase of his first Ford Anglia which he had bought for merely £50, one that he eventually sold off for a marginal profit. However, aside from
RE-CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS AND BIRTH OF WESTCOMBE FOUNDATION In the coming years, business was lucrative and with aims of expansion, the family managed to buy the next door shop at 7 Station Crescent and transformed the corner shop into a makeshift supermarket. It was during this period that there was yet, another turning point in his career with a house on Westcombe Hill coming up for sale. Fearless and ambitious, Vraj had already opened his first bank account with Midland Bank. “I didn't have money to buy that house but I managed to fix an appointment with the manager of Midland Bank,” says Vraj with pride colouring his voice. Back in those days when racism was relatively higher than it is today, he recalls of a rather polite and friendly Fred Drew, the then bank manager of Midland Bank, who helped a 21-year-old Vraj Pankhania secure his first home as well as his first re-construction project. “I approached him with my business proposal of re-constructing the house and asked him if he could
proivde me with a sizeable capital if I could raise £1000 between me and my brother, Raj. “Perhaps, it was the confidence or the courage that he saw in me but for some reason, he tagged along with me to view the property and after going through the site inspection, without asking any further questions, he provided me with a loan worth £10,000,” he says. With his brother Raj Pankhania, they both practically renovated the bare and broken property. Right from scouting shops where he could procure tasteful second-hand furnishings to pouring his sweat in physical labour work, Vraj Pankhania gave it all. And while, the brothers sold off the property with about £3000 worth of profits. Following the successful renovation of his maiden property, they started working on many other properties and dealt deeper into the business of buying, converting and selling these places. But at a later stage brothers parted company amicably and Vraj continued dealing
with properties one after another. Gradually, with these successive successes in his kitty, he experimented with bigger projects and started trading independently under Westcombe Homes somewhere in 1978-79.
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discovering his love for cars, he also found a new alternative of minting money, this time through buying and selling second hand cars after renovating them. “I continued dealing in cars, and juggling my businesss of printing press, but I also started selling off these printing machines at higher prices,” he reveals.
MARRIAGE AND ESTABLISHING A FAMILY LIFE Having achieved small but considerable milestones at such a young age, Vraj realised that it was time to share his happiness with a partner of his life and got married to Joshsna in 1973. Born and brought up in Thika, Joshna became the backbone of his family, supporting him through all obstacles that life threw at him. Today, being the father of his two sons- Kamal and Sunil, he talks about the significance of education especially while taking key administrative and financial decisions in business. “Since the very beginning, I was a firm believer of raising my children by providing them with private education. Today, my son Sunil is a UCL graduate in the field of construction while Kamal also a UCL graduate has secured a first class honours in Economics,” he says. But while he believes in supporting and strengthening family owned businesses, Vraj values merit over inheritance and perhaps it was for this reason that he initially asked his children to gain work experience by slogging it out at private companies. Kamal worked at the City for a few years, but Sunil joined the business straight after graduation. “I wanted my children to have a taste of the professional world because I wanted to ensure that they never took anything for granted. It was important that they understood how pennies are converted into pounds,” he explains.
AID THOSE SUFFERING AIDS THROUGH TRAINING WORKSHOPS But Vraj Pankhania has not just connected dots to design constellations of success, he has allocated a sizeable portion of his
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Westcombe owners the Pankhania family with Prince Harry and Prince William
achievements to help those who are vulnerable. Those who are at the brink of falling prey to the vicious cycle of poverty, malnutrition, illiteracy and most fundamentally prone to fatality. Today, living a semiretired life, he aims to save the world, one child at a time and through his charitable foundation. The magnitude of vulnerability and helplessness has only driven him further to support those in countries such as Africa which is rife with lack of awareness around medical diseases and food insecurity. Today, dozens of volunteers are working with Vraj at the grassroot level near Nairobi in eliminating the stigma surrounding AIDS. Charity workers such as Vicky Weeklar, who was earlier associated with the American Heart Foundation has been
Funding wheelchairs in Kenya
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assisting him in conducting training workshops for those who are diagnosed with AIDS and are often seggregated to the degree that some of their children are marginalised into orphanages. “In these training workshops, we teach these women the art of sewing garments and uniforms, which helps them achieve financial security with their dignity intact. Additionally, we
provide free education to all these kids to increase literacy in the area,” he explains. Although child education remains at the heart of his philanthropic activities, he also conducts a series of eye camps in Kenya. “Nairobi is my birthplace and I can never fully repay my debt to it. Joshsna and I go to Nairobi each year and visit nearby areas where we
serve the under-privileged. The plight of poor women in Kenya is tragic. So, we hold camps for the disabled and donate tri-cycles, wheelchairs, and artificial limbs. “I have particular inclination towards charities relating to the eyes. The charitable foundation is always keen to help in cornea transplants and distribution of glasses,” he said.
V PANKHANIA FOUNDATION AND HOPE FOR NEPAL'S CHILDREN Of all the causes closest to his heart, Vraj was deeply shaken by the destruction caused in Nepal in 2012. About 9,000 people were dead and 22,000 more were injured in the aftermath of an earthquake. Deciding to extend a helping hand in an effort of helping Nepal recuperate from the human disaster, Vraj facilitated in building 250 temporary houses in its moutnainous terrain. “It was a difficult process, one that was essential. But more importantly in my trip to Nepal, I came to know of the distances that little children had to climb up, in order to go to their school and that is how I decided that I wanted to build schools for them,” he explains. A hobbyist golfer and disciplinarian by nature, Vraj and his group of friends pledged to build approximately 20 new schools in Nepal in the aftermath of the earthquake. Off these 20 schools Vraj had personally pledged to build six of them. With this mission in mind, Vraj and his team dedicated their charitable services to Nepal but as donations from international countries such as Japan and China started pouring in, corruption and a breakdown in bureaucracy ensued. This resulted in a slowdown in his projects with the intial cost of his project shooting up by ten folds and he was ultimately successful in inaugurating only one school last year- Bardipal Primary School, Dhading. “It is extremely heartbreaking to realise that sometimes politics can obstruct philanthrophy but we learn to live with things when we are unable to fight the system,” Vraj whispers.
This however, doesn't mean that he has given up his hope in the concept of third sector and volunteer services trying to make a difference. He is extremely conscious of the deteriorating conditions around provision of care home facilities for the old people. Perhaps, it is in the fond memory of his grandfather or the idea of giving back to the society; that today Vraj is also invested with the construction of a community centre in the small village of Goongda near Porbandar. “The Satpuran Dham Ashram will have 21 rooms for the old and poor people of the surrounding areas. The Ashram will have the all the additional amenities of a community centre, a place of worship, a storage area dedicated to stock all food, medical and other essential supplies,” he explains. In 2012 the charity foundation sponsored the Kent & Curwen Royal Charity Polo cup in
Berkshire. At Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Berkshire estate several dignitaries donated generously to an auction and a huge sum was raised. This Foundation also gave a sizeable amount to the Prince Harry and Duke Of Cambridge charities Sentebale and Tusk trust. A grandfather of three grandchildren- Anushka, Anuj and Arya, Vraj is intent on dedicating the rest of his life to contributing his services for the benefit of the society and his community.
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DHAMECHA BROTHERS
RADIUM STUDIO
How did the
Dhamecha’s CASH out of KENYA and CARRY their family values into the UK? “THERE ARE A LOT OF BLANK SPACES IN OUR FAMILY'S HISTORY THAT I AM TRYING TO FILL IN. BY SPEAKING TO MY FATHER KHODIDASBHAI & UNCLE SHANTIBHAI, I WANT OUR CHILDREN AND FUTURE GENERATIONS TO KNOW OF THE STRUGGLES OUR FOREFATHERS HAVE GONE THROUGH. BUT, TODAY THERE ARE THINGS THAT EVEN MY FATHER ISN’T AWARE OF BECAUSE MY GRANDFATHER PASSED AWAY WHEN THEY WERE VERY YOUNG,” SAYS PRADIP. 30
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he family name 'Dhamecha' and their 'cashand-carry' business appear to be in a symbiotic relationship where, although their business does not define the family, it is instrumental in building their reputation. Theirs is a business that is cultivated and nurtured by sacrifices and even today they are the steering wheel for the family-run business founded by the three brothers, Khodidasbhai, Shantibhai & Jayantibhai and now run by Pradip and Manish Dhamecha together with brother-in-law Mukesh Vithlani. The other cousins, Rupen & Amit Dhamecha, run a health care business, whilst Rakesh, a strong Hare Krishna follower runs a hostel for their devotees. Pradip, a humble man in his early 60s, spends a majority of his time balancing his work, family and role in the community. But recently, his quest to de-mystify some lesser known facts of his family history has seen him on a curious journey where he spends quality time with his father trying to trace his ancestral roots. And, as he recalls, the rough waters his family had to raft through- from India to Kenya to London, it is only fitting that the conversation takes place in the family's established cash-and-carry office in Wembley.
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FROM KADEGI, INDIA TO BUTERE, KENYA “There are a lot of blank spaces in our family's history that I am trying to fill in. By speaking to my father Khodidasbhai & uncle Shantibhai, I want our children and future generations to know of the struggles our forefathers have gone through. But, today there are things that even my father isn’t aware of because my grandfather passed away when they were very young,” says Pradip. Ratanshibhai Ranchhod Dhamecha- Pradip's grandfather- was born in 1885 in a small village, Kadegi, near Junagadh in Gujarat, India. He first arrived in Butere, Kenya in 1906 to become a trader. Following the old Indian tradition of early marriages Ratanshibhai soon married Puribaben, with whom he had his first child Santokben. It was only after Puribaben passed away, he went on to marry Jeeviba, however, unfortunately they did not have any children together. Ratanshibhai later married Laduma- Pradip's grandmother, in mid 1920s with whom he went on to have four children. “I don't know the exact details of how they met and how they got married as my grandfather passed away when my father was only four years old, leaving some details very hazy” recalls Pradip. Ratanshibhai passed away on the auspicious occasion of Holi in 1934, leaving behind his five children- Santokben aged 24 (who was by now married to Maganbhai Thakrar), Labhuben aged 6, Khodidasbhai aged 4, Shantibhai aged 3, and Jayantibhai merely a year old. Although, his grandfather was an early settler in Kenya, Pradip is certain that he frequently travelled back to his roots. Pradip feels sure of this because his fatherKhodidasbhai- was born in the same village of Kadegi, unlike his uncles who were both born in Kenya.
(L-R) Santokben, Laduma and, Labhuben
AN EARLY DEMISE AND WOMEN, THE BACKBONE OF THE FAMILY
After the untimely demise of his grandfather, Pradip explains that his father and uncles received their strength from the women of the family who independently raised them in the absence of a male figurehead. The local community members of Kisumu, a town where they had now moved to, played a significant role where neighbours looked after the brothers when the women were at work. It was the sisterhood between the two ladies, Jeeviba and Laduma, who joined hands and worked excruciatingly long hours in a local stonemill that paved the way for a secure future. Together, the sisters-in-law ensured that their children were not deprived of their basic necessities- two square meals, a roof over their heads and most importantly that they went to school. “My father and uncles studied at Kisumu Boys High School. My father later got his first job at Barclays bank when he was only 16 years old where he worked for a few years after which my uncle Shantikaka followed his footsteps and started working in the same bank as well,” a note of pride colours Pradip's voice as he recalls his the family’s journey. It was also during this period that Jeeviba, a strong backbone of the family, met with an untimely death in 1947. However, with Laduma’s guidance, the family pulled through this difficult period. By now, Khodidasbhai had gained valuable work experience at Barclays, however he could not continue in the same branch as his brother due to the Bank’s policies in Kenya in those days which did not allow relatives to work in the same branch. This meant that Pradip's father left Barclays and joined a British company called Dalgety Mercantile, while Jayantibhai immersed himself in his passion for photography. “My father’s experience at Dalgety let the brothers to start the family’s first business venture, dealing in general trading and hardware goods in mid-1950’s,” Pradip reminiscences.
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DHAMECHA BROTHERS: HARDWORK IN THE HARDWARE BUSINESS
Back in those days, Pradip explains how employees at Dalgety would receive a bonus every five years and Khodidasbhai still had few months’ service left. He therefore carried on at Dalgety until he received the bonus which helped to jump start their first business, which the three brothers started. Eventually, in 1956 the company was registered as a hardware store with “Dhamecha Brothers” as its name.
TRICKS OF THE TRADE: SCOUTING BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES IN LONDON Although, the Dhamecha’s arrived in the country with reasonable wealth, Khodidasbhai and his brothers were aware that this wealth would provide a comfortable lifestyle to the families only for a limited time. So, whilst Khodidasbhai was trading in properties, the family also acquired a small grocery store at Kingsbury, North West London. They ran this for about 18 months. The brothers soon realized they would need a much bigger business to support the family going forward.
BIRTH OF DHAMECHA CASH-AND-CARRY
(L-R) Shantibhai, Khodidasbhai, Laduma, and Jayantibhai
Also in the 1950’s, all three brothers and their sister, Labuben got married. Labuben got married to Kalyanji Jivan Ruparellia of Mwanza whilst Khodidasbhai married Lalitaben Dattani from Mwanza in 1953, Shantibhai got married to Kumudben Suchak from Dar-es-Salaam in 1955 and Jayantibhai married Prabhaben Amlani from Lugazi in 1958. The three brothers with their children and mother continued to live together as a joint family in Kisumu, Kenya. Their hardware business flourished and was one of the largest distributors of iron sheets and allied building material supplies. Jayantibhai in the meanwhile ran a successful photography business, Radium Studio, which was in a building adjacent to “Dhamecha Brothers”. “My father was a true visionary. In 1968 he decided to go on a world trip with his two friends and my mother for five months. He thought this would be a wonderful opportunity to travel and explore the world.” By the late 60’s, with Kenya’s independence from Britain, the political & business climate was beginning to change. Khodidasbhai believed that compared to his home country Kenya, the UK provided greater business opportunities. The move to the UK was not immediate, instead, it was a gradual process where he first tested the British waters before jumping straight in. Eventually, Khodidasbhai and his family moved to the UK in 1971. The other family members soon followed suit and by 1974 the entire Dhamecha family were settled in the UK. A modern and big city like London can be quite intimidating but the Dhamecha family in their unity and strength managed to overcome all hurdles and adapted well, although the older generation did miss their life in Kenya.
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This led to the birth of Dhamecha Cash and Carry, a family-run business with its first depot in Wembley in 1976 which started from a 10,000 sq. ft. warehouse. The business expanded steadily, such that by 1983 the business was operating from a 35,000 sq. ft. unit by acquiring adjacent buildings. With no further space to expand, the brothers acquired a 140,000 sq. ft. site on First Way, Wembley, the current Head Office of the business. By this time, both Pradip and his cousin Manish, completed their education in London and spent quite a lot of time after school in the family business. As a result, from a very young age the business skills were honed into them, which has helped them to make greater strides in growing the Dhamecha business. Pradip continued further studies and later qualified as an accountant. Steady growth followed with additional depots opening around the M25 corridor and the Midlands area. Today, the business operates from 9 large sites employing some 700 people. The business is now managed by the second generation of the family, Pradip and his cousin Manish, together with their brotherin-law Mukesh Vithlani.
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(L-R) Anand, Pradip, Manish, Rishi, Rupen, Amit and Akshay at Dhamcha Cash and Carry
WOMAN OF THE HOUSE, LADUMA PASSES AWAY While two generations of Dhamecha’s were consolidating their footprint in the country, the family's happy days were marred by the loss of their grandmother Laduma in 1987. “It was on the auspicious occasion of Janmashtami when our grandmother, Laduma passed away,” he recalls with remorse evident in his voice. Baa's contribution to the growth of the family remains invaluable and Pradip wants the coming generations
and everyone else in the family to be made aware of her struggles, and remember her sacrifices. It is perhaps, for this reason that his office in Wembley- sparsely decorated with minimal furnishings- has a portrait of Laduma placed right above his chair and on the wall opposite the entrance door of his office, which cannot be missed. In 2007, the family suffered through the loss of another strong woman, Jayshree Vithlani - Pradip's sister- who passed away due to breast cancer when she was only 52 years old. Married to Mukesh Vithlani, they had one daughter – Visha, married to Sai Bharti, who also tragically passed away last year at the age of 38 leaving behind 2 young children, Kishan & Ashrami. In
2014, the family lost another member, Jayantibhai, the youngest of the three brothers who had suffered from Parkinson’s disease. Amidst everything, the most significant fact that emerges from this family chain is their unity in the roughest of times and the support they all are to each other.
HARVARD UNIVERSITY ALUMNI: AGE NO BAR Pradip also mentions the inspiration from his children and his nephews and nieces who encourage their parents to achieve bigger milestones in life regardless of their age. Perhaps, Pradip's time over three years spent at Harvard University at the ‘young age’ of 53 years bears testimony to this fact. “The Owner President Management Program was a Asian Voice & Gujarat Samachar 2019 - Kenya Special
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(L-R) Shantibhai, Kumudben, Lalitaben, Khodidasbhai, Jayantibhai, Prabhaben, Labhuben celebrating Khodidasbhai's birthday
(L-R) Khodidasbhai's factory visit in Japan in 1968
(L-R) Khodidasbhai with Dhanjibhai Tanna during their world trip in 1968
fantastic experience for me where I used to travel to Boston every year for three to four weeks,” he explains. Pradip was one among the 160 other executives who hailed from about 48 countries across the world to spend those weeks learning from each other's experience and simultaneously receiving a broad understanding of international markets and finance. It is almost dark now, and the arch of the Wembley Stadium that is visible through the cabin's glass windows glows green - proud yet humble looking as it lights up against the black sky. A few seconds lapse in silence as if he has slipped into quiet meditation before he says“There is no age for learning and studying. The executive management at Harvard was an insightful experience and an inspiration in itself. “Although it provided a platform for networking and building business associations, more importantly it gave me time and the opportunity to reflect on the distance our family has travelled and what is yet to be traversed.” He is also proud to acknowledge
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(L-R) Khodidasbhai, Shantibhai, Jayantibhai, Santokben, Laduma, and Labhuben
the support he receives from a dedicated team of senior professionals who oversee the operational performance of the business on a day to day basis. “Our senior team are loyal colleagues who have been with the company for a long time, some with nearly 30 years of service and hence they understand our values and culture, which is one of our greatest assets.” It is therefore easy to see why the family business has grown so successfully.
DHARMA, KARMA AND COMMUNITY SERVICES The humble characteristics of ensuring an equal and a fair work culture, respecting every individual for their smallest yet significant contributions and following a path of rightness, he says, stems from the parents' upbringing- a legacy that he
hopes will be passed on to future generations. “Children will not learn these values on their own, and in my opinion, it is difficult to teach such values. Instead, we have to be examples for them to follow and more importantly, help them to have the fai th and belief,” he says. Today, most of the family including the third generation members, travel to India regularly, which helps to retain their culture and family roots. They support a variety of charities both here and abroad through the family’s charitable foundation. In addition, the family is involved within their community and with other charitable activities. To the world outside, Dhamecha cash-and- carry might be one of UK’s successful wholesale businesses, but for the family it is their entire life, blood and sweat of their ancestors journey.
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PURPOSE IN POLITICS WITH COUNCILLOR AJAY MARU
COUNCILLOR AJAY MARU SET A PRECEDENT IN BRITAIN'S POLITICAL SPECTRUM IN 2014 WHEN HE BECAME THE FIRST EVER GUJARATI MAYOR IN THE LONDON BOROUGH OF HARROW. FROM STRENGTHENING UK-INDIA RELATIONS THROUGH ACTIVE PARTICIPATION IN 'LABOUR FRIENDS OF INDIA' TO CARRYING THE FAMILY LEGACY OF RUNNING A HAIR AND BEAUTY BUSINESS AND SIMULTANEOUSLY WORKING AT GRASS-ROOTS WITH ALL COMMUNITIES IN HIS CONSTITUENCY, COUNCILLOR MARU REMAINS AN EXEMPLARY FIGURE IN BRITISH POLITICS AND AMONG DIASPORA GROUPS.
orn in Nairobi, he completed his Bachelors in accounting and business management but later came to the UK to pursue his Masters in hairdressing in the early 1980s. It was the hope of having a secured future here or the desire for leading a better lifestyle, he eventually moved to the UK in November 1999 and gradually settled here. But what were the challenges that starting a new life in the financial c apital presented to him and how did he combat them? “Establishing a new business from scratch can be a difficult process regardless of the city where you are trying to create a space for yourself. Of course, having family ties and studying over here, helped but the initial process of identifying that
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perfect location to start my business, among other things was a tough cookie to crack. But, given my experien ce in Nairobi and my connections with friends from Kenya, I was able to break through these obstacles,” says councillor Maru. Today, the 53-year-old part-time hairdresser attributes a large part of his success to the support that he has received from his family, and local residents both in his business and political career. But aside from the constant encouragement from his father, he also picked up professio nal skills from the senior Harilalbhai Maru. “My grandfather started the family business in the hair and beauty industry in early 1920s in Kenya and my father continued with
the legacy. And although, I had the choice of pursuing a different career, I joined the business in mid-1980s and in June 2000, I finally started 'Salon Sleek' our first salon in the UK,” he says. Digital marketing, access to internet, and social media were alien concepts in those days which meant that councillor Maru relied on “word of mouth” at community events and gatherings to flourish his business. Adver tisements in newspapers and distributing leaflets took his business to the heights of success where he was able to start two new branches of his salon in north-west London including an approved training academy. However, his business expertise combined with his interest in uplifting the community and working for the well-being of the youth became the premise for his entry into British politics as a member of the Labour Party in 2005. “My interest in politics stemmed from my social interactions with teenagers in Nairobi and my involvment in local community work there,” he recollects. He works closely with the Council and the Metropolitan Police to ensure the residents are safe and Law and order is maintained at a time where knife crimes and burglaries have increased in the country and are a concern for all. “It is unfortunate that the Conservative Government has cut down the funds provided to the local council. Yet, we are doing our best in ensuring that Harrow continues to be the safest borough out of all the other boroughs in London,” he emphasizes. Today, although Labour Party has enjoyed significant support from the BAME voters in advancing equalities legislation, but councillor Maru hopes to “achieve a greater rep resentation of the Asian community in the UK Parliament.” Asian Voice & Gujarat Samachar 2019 - Kenya Special
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Business across Borders and the Swaminarayan Faith Legacy Continued THE DOYEN OF THE BHATTESSA FAMILY, GORDHANDAS VALLABHJI BHATTESSA, BEGAN WITH AN EARLY SENSE OF ADVENTURE TRAVELLING TO EAST AFRICA AT 16 YEARS OLD. SOON DEVELOPING A KEEN INTEREST IN BUSINESS AND THE COMMUNITY, HE EXPANDED IN KENYA, THROUGH INDUSTRY AS WELL AS BECOMING AN INTEGRAL PART IN DEVELOPING THE FOUNDATIONS OF THE THE SWAMINARAYAN FAITH IN KENYA, ALONG WITH HIS WIFE, WHO BECAME KNOWN A ‘MASIBA’. THEIR STORY CONTINUES THROUGH THE CHILDREN GLOBALLY, AND THROUGH GENERATIONS.
ordhandas Vallabhji Bhattessa, the doyen of the Bhattessa family, was born in 1903 in Junagadh, India. With an early sense of adventure, he travelled to East Africa by dhow at the young age of 16 years old. It wasn’t before long he joined the Civil Service securing his first job as postmaster in Gilgil, Kenya. He continued with the British Service for several years during which time he returned to India to get married to Vrajkunvarben, later known as Masiba. Whilst in Gilgil, he developed a keen interest in business, and through connections in the White Highlands, he was introduced to the timber industry, soon forming his company “Farmer’s Timber”, exporting timber to the UK. As the company grew, he was requested to make wooden crates for Coca Cola, which required him to import nails from abroad to complete the process. As the demand from Coca Cola increased, Gordhandas decided to import machineries from Germany to manufacture nails locally. With the support of his children, this led to the establishment of Nalin Nail Works, the first nail manufacturer in East Africa, later manufacturing raw materials in newly formed companies Gnanjivan Galvanising Mills, Gnanjivan Screws and Fastners and Gnanjivan Special Steel Rolling Mills.
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Whilst working as a Postmaster in his early days, Gordhandas met Muktaraj Maganbhai Patel who was a Station Master. This was when the strong foundations for the Swaminarayan faith were built in Kenya. After moving to Nairobi, he met, Muktaraj Harmanbhai Patel, with whom they had regular satsangs (alongside R.U. Patel, Tribhovandas Patel, Ambalal Patel, C.T. Patel, Manibhai Patel among others). Gordhandas suggested purchasing ‘’Goan Club’’, opposite his residence ‘’Yogi House’’ in Nagara, Nairobi. And so the first BAPS Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Mandir was built in the 1960s, for the benefit of all satsangis. His wife Vrajkunvarba Bhattessa, “Masiba”, was known to have regular gatherings and satsangs at her residence Yogi Nivas, and Pramukh Swami Maharaj speaking at the foundation laying ceremony of Akshardham Temple, Gandhinagar, Gujurat. became well known as a dedicated Gordhandas Bhattessa sitting to the right. satsangi, reputable for extending hospitality to all. following a brief encounter with Sir family. From there, he has The Swaminarayan faith was an Maxwell Joseph, founder of Grand expanded his property portfolio integral part of the Bhattessa Metropolitan PLC, now creating an estate around the hotel household, continued Diageo PLC. At the in Marylebone and around the UK. globally by all their time, Grand He has also maintained and over WHILST WORKING AS A children. Their sons Metropolitan were 30 years, grown one of the largest grew up taking POSTMASTER, GORDHANDAS MET selling a number outdoor Shakespeare Festivals in over the business, the UK in one of the properties MUKTARAJ MAGANBHAI PATEL WHO of their hotels and Gordhandas Pendley Manor Hotel, in Tring. and Vinu, who at WAS A STATION MASTER. THIS WAS the time saw an and Vrajkunvarba Vinu and his wife Sudha have devoted their lives WHEN THE STRONG FOUNDATIONS opportunity, three children Reena, Neal and to the faith, both Sheena all of whom are settled in FOR THE SWAMINARAYAN FAITH acquired many regularly visiting London. Neal joined his Father in hotels including WERE BUILT IN KENYA. Yogiji Maharaj in the business eight years ago during landmark property India. It was proposed which time it has established itself The Mandeville Hotel. It that one of the sons should as a Family Estate for future is at this time he relocated become a Sadhu. At that time Yogiji generations of their family. from Nairobi to London with his Maharaj retorted that if they become a Sadhu, who would build Mandirs? Pujya Pramukhswami saw in Vinubhai, the art of business acumen and spiritual devotion and accordingly made him a Trustee for UK and Europe in 1992. Vinu continues to uphold this duty as an underlying part his work. Whenever an occasion arose for building a temple from Akshardham Delhi to New Jersey to London, Vinubhai was sought after to find and negotiate the buildings and raw materials, predominantly marble, for the construction of the temples, and accordingly made him a senior trustee working on interfaith, Public Relations, health and education for UK and Europe in 1992. Vinubhai diversified into the Vinu Bhattessa garlanding Yogiji Maharaj at the inauguration of the first Hindu temple in the UK in Islington in the presence of Pramukh Swami Maharaj and Gordhandas Bhattessa. hotel and property industry in 1981, Asian Voice & Gujarat Samachar 2019 - Kenya Special
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Following friends into Pharmacy
The evolution of SIGMA PHARMACEUTICALS PLC IMAGINE A 17-YEAR-OLD BOY LEAVING BEHIND THE BAGGAGE OF A RURAL LIFE, A SECURE HOME, AND A BEAUTIFUL FAMILY WHILE TRAVELLING ALL ALONE TO THE UK IN SEARCH OF A NEW CAREER. BHARAT KUMAR HANSRAJ DEVRAJ SHAH EMBARKED ON A JOURNEY FROM KENYA TO THE ROMAN CITY OF BATH, IN 1966 THREE YEARS AFTER THE EAST AFRICAN COUNTRY ATTAINED INDEPENDENCE FROM THE BRITISH. OVER HALF A CENTURY IN THE COUNTRY NOW, BHARAT SHAH HAS TRANSITIONED FROM A BOY WHO CAME TO PURSUE A DEGREE IN PHARMACY TO ESTABLISHING HIS OWN FAMILY BUSINESS- SIGMA PHARMACEUTICALS PLC.
From left to right: Manish Hansraj Shah, Bharat Kumar Hansraj Shah, Hansraj Devraj Anand Shah and Kamal Hansraj Shah. igma is a family-owned business which was started nearly three and a half decades ago. Founded in the early 1980s by members of the Hansraj-Devraj family, the company that started as a community pharmacy changed the rules of London’s High Street Pharmacy and today it is one of UK's leading pharmacy wholesaler. It’s founder and director, Bharat Shah, speaks about the laborious journey of starting with one small shop in Watford, the contributions of the family members that makes
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Sigma ‘Independent Together’, and the future avenues that the company maybe intent on exploring. “My father and uncle left India and migrated to Kenya looking for better jobs and a better life whereas their third brother did not migrate and decided to settle in India,” Bharat Shah reveals.
WORLD WAR II AND IMMIGRATION TO KENYA The history of Hansraj-Devraj family can be traced to the World
FOLLOWING MY FRIENDS INTO PHARMACY He finished his basic education in Nairobi where he cleared his O levels examinations, but as there was limited space for pursuing A levels, he started weighing his options outside Kenya. Local universities, according to Shah, mostly catered for arts courses- something that, he says, was not a productive career option in those days. “Very few among the Asian families, studie d arts. It was not a preferred subject to develop a career in, because we’re raised with this ideology that we had to establish a business that would ultimately help the family,” he explains. His parents were not highly educated, and owing to the lack of guidance around him, he heavily relied on his friends' for career advice. “Someone said they would be studying pharmacy, and I followed. Later when someone e lse asked me about their career options then I would offer the same advice. In a way, this established a cycle where everyone had a herd mentality. “So, you will notice that most East African professionals of my generation are either accountants or pharmacists,” he says. He mentions how Uganda had a medical college but because it had few seats in comparison to the large number of students who were trying to apply to the college, he understood that his options were limited. And this, eventually, persuaded him to come to the UK in 1966 to pursue education leading to a degree in Pharmacy at Bath. “My estimate is that eight out of ten East African Asian students in the UK and most professionals of my generation came to this country between 1965-1980,” he ponders.
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From left to right: Bharat Shah, Manish Shah, Bhavin Shah, Sachin Shah, Hatul Shah, Paras Shah, Rajiv Shah and Kamal Shah War II era when India was still a British colony and at the height of unemployment, political instability and abject poverty. Shah’s family had crossed the coastlines of Gujarat and entered Kenya hoping to pull themselves out of poverty similar to other families who hailed from Gujarat and Punjab. Many of these Indians had migrated to these African shores as labourers recruited by the East India Company with the sole purpose of building the country’s railways. Perhaps, the British Raj’s oppression in Kenya and a sense of isolation that came from being away from home led to the presence of a strong and a cohesive Indian community in Kenya. “From what my father told me our community helped most of the Asian immigrants a lot in getting jobs and accommodation. They were rough days initially with more than a dozen people somehow camping in one room. It is difficult to even imagine those conditions today,” recalls the CEO & director of Sigma. But the real breakthrough out of those conditions for all east-African Asians, according to Shah was during the period when Kenya
attained independence from the UK. This, he believes, created a vacuum in the country’s administrative and governmental positions that needed to be filled with businessmen, and other professionals as Indians were better qualified than Africans in those days. Recalling how castesystem was a dominant force dividing the society and driving the economy, Shah speaks of the people being boxed into different professions based on their caste. Amidst others who were caught in this pattern were the Shahs who mostly worked in textiles industry, Patels in administration and Sikhs in repair work, engineers and garages. “My parents had opened a textile shop on their own and although it was a steady business, it only paid for our basic education,” he recalls.
GOING TO KENYA AND POST-MARRIAGE IMMIGRATION TO THE UK He finished his A Levels at Bath Technical College, then completed his Pharmacy qualification from the University of Bath in 1971. He proceeded to then undertake one year of training at Boots Pharmacy in the Roman city and later continued
“SOMEONE SAID THEY WOULD BE STUDYING PHARMACY, AND I FOLLOWED. LATER WHEN SOMEONE ELSE ASKED ME ABOUT THEIR CAREER OPTIONS THEN I WOULD OFFER THE SAME ADVICE. IN A WAY, THIS ESTABLISHED A CYCLE WHERE EVERYONE HAD A HERD MENTALITY. SO, YOU WILL NOTICE THAT MOST EAST AFRICAN PROFESSIONALS OF MY GENERATION ARE EITHER ACCOUNTANTS OR PHARMACISTS,”
FAMILY SUPPORT AND WHOLESALING BUSINESS Shah fervently believes that he could not have achieved what he has today without his family’s support. In those struggling days, he says, he was joined by his brother Manish, who came to the UK to pursue his career in accountancy. Manish graduated in Economics in 1979 from Newcastle University and consequently became a Chartered Accountant in 1981. He stayed with Shah i n London and helping him out in book-keeping in his business. In the meantime Shah had found his first shop in Watford in 1982 and then bought two more shops in Harrow. But like Bharat, his younger brother Manish was presented with a similar choice wherein his father asked him to either start his own practice or join his older brother’s pharmacy business. “Joining my business was a waste of time for him beca use he could only ever help in accounts or front shop. There was not much space for Manish’s growth and that is why we extended the business into wholesaling in 1982,” he mentions. But that was just the beginning of Shah’s entrepreneurial dreams turning into a reality. According to the pharmacist, the actual turning point in his business came when he started dealing with generic medicines which until then w ere available only in a few shops. In 1982, Shah explains that under the NHS quite a lot of branded medicines were coming out of their patents which Sigma then sold as generics. Asian Voice & Gujarat Samachar 2019 - Kenya Special
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to work at the shop for another year, achieving valuable experience which, he says, subsequently helped him in his business when he went back to Kenya in 1973. “I spent close to 18 months working in the Retail and Hospital Pharmacy industry in Kenya after getting married over there. But I didn’t like it and so, I joined my father in his textile business. “But he thought that I had wasted all his money that he had invested in my education and so, he presented me with two options,” he shrugs off, smiling. Shah reveals that those two options included either buying his own Pharmacy shop in Kenya and flourishing his business there or going back and settling down in the UK. With a little encouragement from his father coupled with his determination to be on his own, Shah moved to the UK in 1975. Calling it a brave move on his part, Shah explains, how he wasn’t aware of the country’s market despite having previously worked in the city of Bath. “I was partly lucky at that time as the retail pharmacy businesses were not as competitive as it is today,” he muses. Explaining that most of these pharmacies were owned by the Europeans, Shah talks about how the Asians settled in the UK revolutionised the pharmacy sector by extending the regular opening hours of these shops. “Most Europeans were content with opening their shops from 09:00 in the morning and closing down at 5.30pm in the evening. They did not want to extend beyond their regular routine hours. “We were more entrepreneurial in our thinking in that we not just extended the timings, but also stocked different types of medical and toiletries lines and we added a personal touch to our services and closely interacted with our customers. I feel that is how we expanded our business,” he elaborated.
The Visa Oshwal Community Executive Committee Nairobi, Kenya, circa 1955. First row, seated second from left: Mr Nyalchand Lakdhir Shah and third row, first left: Mr Hansraj Devraj Shah
VENTURING INTO GENERIC MEDICINES “Generic medicines such as Paracetamol and Aspirin were difficult to source as there were limited wholesalers,” he recalls. Companies like GlaxoSmithKline invented medicines, which allowed them their exclusive patent over the product that would usually last for 20 years. The first ten years are usually spent on testing and R&D. This means that they had exclusivity on that molecule in that time frame which did not allow other companies
“WE WERE MORE ENTREPRENEURIAL IN OUR THINKING IN THAT WE NOT JUST EXTENDED THE TIMINGS, BUT ALSO STOCKED DIFFERENT TYPES OF MEDICAL AND TOILETRIES LINES AND WE ADDED A PERSONAL TOUCH TO OUR SERVICES AND CLOSELY INTERACTED WITH OUR CUSTOMERS. I FEEL THAT IS HOW WE EXPANDED OUR BUSINESS,” HE ELABORATED. 40
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to access or duplicate. But since they were now coming out of their patents, it meant that the generic market would be open and Shah took a chance. “We were successful because we had the right product but more importantly the Asian community supported us. “We were the one of the first few in the market and starting from scratch meant that we did not have people marketing for us. “I spoke to 30-40 pharmacist friends who I know from Kenya and the university and told them that we were starting a business in generic medicines, and they said that they would support us,” he explains Sigma’s trajectory in the generics industry. This support from the Asian community is also instrumental in the success of other large Asian businesses traders. Although Shah had plans to expand and had support from his
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brother and his parents, the real struggle would have been in acquiring the funds required to boost the business. But Shah says, banks were very favourable to the pharmacy industry in those days as they perceived it as a very secure business. Even today, he argues, that banks perceive pharmacy as a very secure business. However, at present complications have risen as a lot of pharmacists are relying on NHS prescriptions and not on frontof-shop sales. Until about 2000, Sigma was a wholesaling business where Shah and his family would buy medicines from manufacturers and supply medicines to local pharmacies. But in 2000, they expanded, branching into the retail segment as well. Two years later, Shah was joined by his oldest son, Hatul who following his father’s footsteps graduated in Pharmacy in 2002. “So, we bought the first retail
shop in 2002 and someone else ran it for about a year after which in 2003, Hatul and his partner ran the shop. Since then, Hatul has been handling the retail section of business on behalf of the family,” Shah says proudly.
today which is a quarter of a population. There are very few East African Asians who have succeeded in expanding their pharmacy business by venturing into manufacturing- one of them beingVijay Patel of Waymade Plc, Kirit Patel of Goldshield (Now Advanz) and even Vitabiotics to an extent as they are into over-the-counter medicines. But Bharat Shah’s Sigma Pharmaceuticals has continued to spread and consolidate their footing in wholesaling business. Today, Sigma Pharmaceuticals organises annual international Retail Pharmacy conferences wherein, Shah invites renowned experts and stakeholders of the pharmacy industry to speak about community pharmacy. In this year’s Sigma Conference in Muscat, Oman, Theresa May in a letter said the government wants to “build upon the innovative success of community pharmacy, encouraging further collaboration and partnership with the NHS”. Ms May continued: “Through increased collaboration and partnership, we can develop a stronger role for community pharmacy, making sure we encourage more people to use local pharmacies.” Sigma now has 14 shops some of which some are owned by Shah and his family while others are joint partnerships. Sigma’s latest motto ‘Independent Together’, according to Shah, delivers the key message today that the company as a familyrun independent business could not have achieved success without the help of independent pharmacies and we want to pursue the journey of being independent ‘to-gether’.
SIGMA CONFERENCES AND COMMUNITY PHARMACY In the following years, his second son Rajiv and his brother Manish’s son Bhavin Shah joined the business and so did his nephews- Sachin and Paras Shah. Business continued to expand with the first generation now being the stewards of their sailing ship. From 2005-06 Sigma explored the market for wholesaling mobility aids such as wheelchairs, walking sticks etc. It also ventured into the niche market of veterinary medicines for companion pets. There are roughly 15 million companion pets in this country Asian Voice & Gujarat Samachar 2019 - Kenya Special
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RAMJI THE KING OF FURNISHINGS
anu Ramji’s journey started in 1978 when he left India at the tender age of 12 to Africa to live with his father. He started his school in Nairobi in the Embakasi area. However, after two years they started facing financial difficulties and his father struggled to provide for him. They had a very tough decision to make, either return back to India or find a sponsor in Africa. Luckily, he managed to find a sponsor in Kisumu, who would employ him and provide him with accommodation, making him independent at the mere age of 14 years old.
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Early in 1984, a British family came over to Kenya for a holiday and whilst travelling they visited a cousin. Manu was living here at the time and was introduced to the daughter of the family by the uncle. The pair spent some time together and decided they were well suited. And this is how he married Kanta in Kenya later that year and migrated to the UK in October 1984. After reaching the UK he got a job as a carpenter, a job he continued with for a few years. He then worked with his brother-in-law in his tile shop in Hounslow developing valuable skills in this new field. In 1989 he made the decision that he was now ready to be his own boss and started his own business of tiles. Kings Kitchens have come a very long way since their humble beginnings, with Manu setting up displays in his conservatory and stocking in his garage at home. After a long battle with the Companies House and the Home Office they were finally authorised with the right to use the name Kings Kintchen Plc. After witnessing a sustained growth owing largely to customer recommendations, in January 1995, the company outgrew itself and moved to a new location, a business park in Willesden, North West London. A stylish and an affordable
range of bedrooms was also added to the core Kitchen portfolio in 1996. After consultation and feedback from clients, Kings Kitchens created market trends by designing new and exclusive kitchen and bedroom ranges. These designs are manufactured for Kings Kitchens by overseas partners present across the world. By August 2000 the initial warehouse space of 6000 square feet, had more than doubled to 14,000 by acquiring additional units at the business centre. In 2004 they opened another high street showroom on Edgware Road in West Hendon, allowing easier access to the expanding customer base. In 2007 an exciting opportunity arose when they re-located their head office. It was only a short distance, but a much larger and a more suitable location in Park Royal, one of Europe’s largest business districts. The impressive headquarters in Park Royal offers both trade and retail one of the most comprehensive range of kitchen
3-year-old Manu with his mother Amarben
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and bedroom furnishings available in Southeast England and allows callers to inspect all the latest stocks. With experienced consultants on hand offering impartial advice on all their products, the Kings Kitchens' philosophy of teamwork assures the customers of their commitment to quality at all times. Today, Manu continues to play an active role in the day to day running of the company, which is ably supported by his Branch Managers and staff. Kings Kitchens initially exhibited at (L-R) Deepak, Kinaree, Kanta, Hema Lakhani, Dr. Anand Lakhani, Manu Ramji and grand-daughter Mia. local community events and at “Asia With that in mind they have Live” in 2000 at Wembley kept strong social links by hosting Exhibition Centre. The following events most of these years where year they took part in the they have invited long-term loyal inaugural Trade Exhibition customers and associates of the “Kitchens and Bathrooms Expo” at company. the Excel Centre in Docklands, They have also built up a London. It was in 2002 that they strong association with all temples made the next logical step and and community centres. Manubhai decided to take pride of place in is today also the honorary the “Ideal Home Show” at Earls secretary of The Bharatiya Vidya Court in London. After reaping the Bhavan in West Kensington, benefits from this adventure they London. The Bhavan supports and have continued with their encourages awareness around arts exhibitions at the Ideal Home and culture, through academic Show in subsequent years, to keep courses in music, languages and customers up to date with “what’s stage drama. Additionally, for the new”. well-being of the staff the The business and its team has company has been providing from the beginning followed the badminton sessions weekly at philosophy of “never forgetting the Manu ramji at the opening ceremony at the Woolwich Harrow Leisure Centre since 1994 hand that fed them”. Temple and also arrange cricket matches Manu Ramji working at the Mtito Andei Mosque in Kenya in 1982.
during summers with various groups. Guests are invited from the various fields of media, banking, traders and suppliers' guild to participate. The Kings Kitchens brand is now truly international, which is made possible by the introduction of the Kings Website. The site allows users to browse through all current collections that are available in all ranges. They are now expanding their social media and have recently joined Instagram to reach yet another target market.
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Living with Tigers
A FUTURE FOR WILDLIFE & PEOPLE ndia is home to some of the greatest diversity of wildlife on Earth. Within this extraordinary ecosystem, one species needs our intervention more than ever – the tiger. The tiger is instantly recognisable and one of nature’s most charismatic and revered animals, but it is also persecuted and killed. A century ago there were an estimated 100,000 t igers across Asia. Since then, numbers have collapsed by 96% to just 4,000. Wild tigers face many threats to their survival, including human-
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TIGERS FACE MANY THREATS TO THEIR SURVIVAL IN THE WILD, BUT DESPITE THESE THREATS, INTERNATIONAL WILDLIFE CHARITY BORN FREE REMAINS OPTIMISTIC FOR THE FUTURE OF TIGERS IN CENTRAL INDIA
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wildlife conflict, poaching for their body parts for traditional medicine, and habitat loss due to deforestation and rural development. But there is hope. Living with Tigers – a unique initiative run by UKbased international wildlife charity Born Free – is working ac ross the Satpuda area of central India to safeguard tiger habitats and help communities and wildlife live together peacefully. Living with Tigers supports Indian NGOs in their work, within their own communities, to find solutions to conflict. To help local communities and tigers live alongside each other, Living with Tigers has introduced toilets in more than 200 villages, installed cooking stoves powered by a nimal dung in more than 1,000 homes, and captured eight poachers thanks to information provided through its Mobile Health Unit. Nearly 30 women have been trained and are now employed as tourist guides. 10 men are employed at a bamboo workshop, and 10 women’s groups have started their own micro-businesses. “It is hard, committed and long-term work,” explains Howard Jones, Born Free’s CEO. “The good news is that we ’re making progress, because in the last 10 years, tiger numbers have increased to a population of 500 across the Satpuda landscape. “With your generous support we can increase our efforts and expand into new areas,” he adds. “We can work more widely to counter the causes of this crisis – in our Satpuda landscape and across Asia. Our goal is to safeguard wild tiger populations in central India while conservi ng their habitat and promoting co-existence.” With your help, Born Free’s Living with Tigers initiative plans to work with more local communities to reduce human-wildlife conflict, and educate more people on the importance of conservation and co-
existence. “We have identified a lot of livelihood alternatives and options and I like to see that the community is getting their livelihood from alternative resource s and alternative livelihood projects like tourism and hospitality management,” says Kishor Rithe, Founder of Satpuda Foundation, one of the NGOs that are part of the Living with Tigers initiative. It’s not just the local communities that Living with Tigers is looking after – the initiative is also ensuring tigers have protected areas across central India so they can roam freely in their natural habitat. “Our landscape enjoys a lot of protection,” says Poonam Dhanwatey, Co-Founder of Tiger Research and Conservation Trust (TRACT), another Living with Tigers partner. “Our management and our state government has put in a lot of effort. There is a lot of funding which is going in and our policies are really good. So, I think with the effort of NGOs like us, local people and the government, we do see a very positive tr end.” TRACT Co-Founder Harshawardhan Dhanwatey adds: “A lot of our forests remain protected and the government has declared other areas as wildlife sanctuaries, tiger reserves or buffers. So I can see a very bright future for tigers here, and I can see that tigers will remain forever.” India without tigers is unimaginable. Born Free is launching ‘Tigers of Industry’ – an initiative to allow for Asian business leaders to contribute via their business Corporate Social Responsibility, marketing, charity or sustainability budgets. Please contact Hitesh Patel at Born Free for further details. hitesh@bornfree.org.uk Born Free is an international wildlife charity that works tirelessly to ensure all wild animals are treated with compassion and respect. For more information, see www.bornfree.org.uk
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LIVING WITH
TIGERS
A FUTURE FOR PEOPLE AND WILDLIFE India without tigers is unimaginable
FEWER THAN
4,000 TIGERS REMAIN IN THE WILD
Persecuted due to conflict Habitat under threat from development Slaughtered for their body parts
SA AV VE WILD TIGERRSS TODA AY Y
www.bornfree.org.uk/living-with-tigers
Keep Wildlife in the Wild
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BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, Nairobi
History of the
BAPS Swaminarayan Community in Kenya n 1801 in Gujarat, Bhagwan Swaminarayan (1781–1830) founded a spiritual tradition, which later became known as the Swaminarayan Sampradaya. Since its founding, it has now become an international movement described as one of the “most visible forms of contemporary Hinduism”.1 Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS), a group formed in 1907 by Shastriji Maharaj (1865–1951), the third spiritual successor of Bhagwan Swaminarayan, is arguably the most visible Swaminarayan group outside of India, and has been described as “the single largest identifiable Hindu community in the West”.2 Prominent across the world, its previous leader, Pramukh Swami Maharaj (1921– 2016), was recognised by
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Guinness World Records in 2008 for consecrating the largest number of Hindu temples in the world (this number later grew to over 1,100 mandirs), which includes the Neasden Temple in London, and Swaminarayan Akshardhams in Delhi and Gandhinagar. BAPS is thus a prominent bhakti community within Hinduism in India and various diasporic locations with 101 mandirs in North America and 16 in UK and Europe. The story of its vast and rapid international growth, however, began in Kenya, East Africa. The two main Swaminarayan organizations that emerged in East Africa in the early 1920s were the devotees from Kutch (Gujarat) who came under the Ahmedabad Gadi and devotees of BAPS. In the period from 1928, both groups joined together in Swaminarayan
MUCH OF THIS ARTICLE IS BASED ON INTERVIEWS GIVEN BY SADHU ISHWARCHARANDAS AND MAHENDRABHAI PATEL OF NAIROBI, AND HAS BEEN PRESENTED AS AN ARTICLE BY SADHU VIVEKJIVANDAS.
THE GUJARATI DIASPORA IN EAST AFRICA COMPRISED DIFFERENT CASTES, RELIGIONS, HINDU DENOMINATIONS, AND GEOGRAPHICAL REGIONS. THE EARLIEST GUJARATI IMMIGRANTS WHO ARRIVED IN MOMBASA IN 1895 INCLUDED SOME WHO LATER BECAME BAPS DEVOTEES, INCLUDING MAGANBHAI PATEL OF VASO, ISHWARBHAI PATEL OF KARAMSAD, AND MANIBHAI PATEL OF BHADRAN. THEY SET UP SHOPS TO CATER FOR LOCAL CONSUMERS. THE MAJORITY OF GUJARATIS WHO CAMEAFTER 1895 WORKED AS INDENTURED LABOURERS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE UGANDAN RAILWAY. SOME ALSO SET UP SHOPS AND BUSINESSES, WORKED AS SKILLED ARTISANS AND CONSTRUCTION WORKERS (PRIMARILY KUTCHIS), RAILWAY CLERKS, STATION-MASTERS, AND GUARDS (PRIMARILY PATELS), AND ESTABLISHED THEMSELVES AS MONEYLENDERS AND SHOP OWNERS (PRIMARILY LOHANAS AND PATELS) (WILLIAMS 2001, 202).
1. Williams and Trivedi, Swaminarayan Hinduism: Tradition, Adaptation and Identity, xix. 2. Melton and A. Jones, ‘Reflections on Hindu Demographics in America: An Initial Report on the First American Hindu Census’, 7.
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THE STORY OF BAPS’S GROWTH TRACES GUJARATI EMIGRANTS TO EAST AFRICA, THOSE DEVOTEES WHO PIONEERED THE BAPS MEETINGS AND ITS DEVELOPMENT, THE DIFFICULTIES FACED, THE ROLE OF BAPS GURUS WHEN TEMPLES WERE BEING BUILT, THE IMPACT OF THE TEMPLES, AND THE PRESENT STATE OF THE BAPS ORGANIZATION. activities. A few BAPS followers were among the first Patidars who migrated to East Africa. To further nourish their faithful devotion, Shastriji Maharaj, Nirgundas Swami (a senior sadhu in the tradition), and Yogiji Maharaj (spiritual successor to Shastriji Maharaj and BAPS guru from 1951 to 1971) wrote letters to the devotees on a regular basis. Nirgundas Swami was especially effective in encouraging them with detailed letters, often some 70 to 100 pages long. When the migrants came to India on vacation, they would personally meet Shastriji Maharaj, Nirgundas Swami, and Yogiji Maharaj, and stay with them to listen to their spiritual discourses. With the permission of Shastriji Maharaj, Harmanbhai Makandas Patel, a devotee of Gana (district Kheda), emigrated to East Africa in the early 1920s. While on a visit to India in 1927, he met Purushottam Swami (a sadhu disciple of Shastriji Maharaj) at the BAPS mandir in Bochasan. 1
Purushottam Swami gave him five small printed murtis of Bhagwan Swaminarayan and Gunatitanand Swami for daily worship. Harmanbhai explained that he needed only one for himself, but Purushottam Swami told him that all five would be required. Harmanbhai returned to East Africa and soon those five murtis were distributed to new devotees. In 1928, the Kutchi Swaminarayan devotees in Nairobi arranged a discourse on the Satsangijivan scripture and sponsored a traditional Swaminarayan procession in which 1,200 devotees and friends participated. The subsequent increase in followers created the demand for a temple or hari mandir. Hence, a canvas murti of Bhagwan Swaminarayan was installed in a room at Messrs Karsan Mulji Co. on Canal Road in Nairobi. It was known as the Kutchi Swaminarayan Mandir. One of the most important turning points which was to have a profound effect on the subsequent history of the entire Swaminarayan community in East Africa happened around this time. Harmanbhai, an assistant station-master on the ‘Patel Railway’, inspired Maganbhai Patel (originally Vaso), his superior as station-master in Mombasa, to become a devotee. These two soon became the pioneers of BAPS in East Africa. Maganbhai and Harmanbhai started searching for and contacting Swaminarayan devotees throughout East Africa. Many Patels from the
Mahendrabhai Patel (Barrister) – Chairman of the BAPS organisation in East Africa for many years prior to his passing away in 2018 – recalled the following details about this shrine: The premises belonged to a Kutchi devotee, and he permitted the use of two small rooms for prayer and worship. A painted murti of Bhagwan Swaminarayan was installed and Swaminarayan devotees of both Kutch and BAPS assembled on Saturdays, Sundays, and on festive days to celebrate and conduct discourses. The spiritual assembly (sabha) was mainly held on Saturday evening; other than that, whoever came for darshan during the morning on weekdays performed the arti. In all, not more than 25 Kutchi and BAPS devotees could be accommodated in the two rooms. There was no management committee at that time because the following was small. However, several prominent active devotees belonged to the BAPS group. Manibhai Umedbhai Patel of Bhadran, Tribhovandas Muljibhai Patel of Bhadran, Manibhai Purushottamdas Amin of Tarapur, Manibhai Ashabhai Patel of Sojitra, and others formed the East Africa Satsang Mandal. Manibhai Ashabhai Patel was appointed as the first president of this group in 1928.
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3 (Left to right) 1. Temple Road mandir in Nairobi, 1945 2. Mombasa Mandir opening, 1955 3. Pramukh Swami Maharaj performing murti pratishtha in Nairobi, 1999
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Mahendrabhai Patel: The growth of the group caused Harmanbhai and Maganbhai of BAPS to feel an urgent necessity of a mandir. In the 1940s the city governing body wished to develop a particular area of Nairobi. They floated a scheme for selling plots of land for 5,000 Kenyan shillings. Prominent BAPS devotees, namely Harmanbhai Patel, Maganbhai Patel, Kashibhai Patel, Mithabhai Patel, A.P. Patel, Girdharbhai Patel, C.T. Patel, and Kutchi devotees of the Ahmedabad Gadi, namely Hirjibhai Patel, Karsanbhai Patel, Bhimji Patel, and Sheth Lalji Makanji gave donations for purchasing the land and for the construction work. This was how the Swaminarayan Mandir on Temple Road came into existence. On 25 December 1945, a canvas painting of Bhagwan Swaminarayan, Gunatitanand Swami, and Gopalanand Swami – sanctified by Shastriji Maharaj in India – was ritually installed by Maganbhai Patel in the small Swaminarayan Mandir on Temple Road in Nairobi. Later, flanked on either side of the main murti, canvas murtis of Nar-Narayan and Lakshmi-Narayan were also consecrated by the devotees of the Ahmedabad and Vadtal Gadis. It was the first Swaminarayan temple to be opened outside of India. A committee of the East Africa Satsang Mandal was formed, consisting of ten to twelve Pioneer of Satsang, members. From 1945 until 1962, Maganbhai Patel devotees of both BAPS and Kutch attended arti, prayers, and satsang (spiritual discourse or sacred gathering) in that mandir. With regards to the administration, the committee members belonged to both Kutchi followers associated with the Ahmedabad diocese and BAPS Pioneer of Satsang, Harmanbhai Patel followers, and they were elected by the congregation of devotees. However, the rules of the original constitution were revised in 1962, and by 1964 administration of the mandir was in the hands of the Kutchi Swaminarayan devotees, which surprised the BAPS trustees and devotees. Not wishing to engage in a debate or conflict with the majority Kutchi trustees and devotees, the BAPS trustees and devotees started their own satsang assemblies. The weekly satsang was held in rotation at the homes of Ambalalbhai P. Patel, Dahyabhai Patel, and others in Nairobi. In 1966, a site for building a BAPS mandir was purchased on Nagara Road, Nairobi, with the approval and support of Yogiji Maharaj, who subsequently consecrated the mandir in 1970.
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Shastriji Maharaj
Nirgundas Swami
Charotar region of Gujarat were working in the East African Railway. Both Harmanbhai and Maganbhai sent regular news reports to railway employees regarding Shastriji Maharaj's blessings and copies of Nirgundas Swami's letters to BAPS devotees. Gradually BAPS followers organized assemblies in Kenya, namely Mombasa, Nairobi, Kisumu, Makindu, Gilgil, Eldoret, Kericho, Elburgon, and in Uganda, namely Tororo, Jinja, Namasagali, and other towns and villages. Manibhai Umedbhai Patel of Bhadran was the first follower to arrange a festival in Makindu. This set in motion a chain of festivals that were held during weekends in many other locations. The devotees travelled in trucks despite the hardships of the long journey to the venues where they slept on mattresses in large rooms and verandahs. In the morning they walked to a nearby river to bathe. With the encouragement of Shastriji Maharaj, the organisation slowly developed in East Africa. Picnics, festivals, conventions, and seven-day spiritual discourses accelerated Satsang growth. Maganbhai was the sole speaker in the early days, and he gave marathon discourses on the life and work of Bhagwan Swaminarayan, Shastriji Maharaj, on the significance of devotion to God, and listening to spiritual discourses. Old devotees recall how he would
often talk continuously through the night, his talks inspiring and strengthening the faith of many listeners and increasing the numbers of Gujaratis accepting BAPS teachings. Some 15 years earlier, Yogiji Maharaj had landed for the first time on the soil of East Africa on 14 April 1955. It was a historic and memorable occasion for the BAPS devotees. Yogiji Maharaj consecrated the first BAPS temple in 1955 in Mombasa in accordance with the wishes of Shastriji Maharaj. He visited East Africa again in 1959-60 and consecrated three more mandirs in Uganda: Tororo, Kampala and Jinja. During his third and final visit in 1970, he opened the mandir in Nairobi on 10 February 1970. At the time, Yogiji Maharaj had prophesised that a magnificent traditional mandir would take shape in Nairobi in the future. The BAPS Swaminarayan mandirs and satsang centres not only served as spiritual oases for devotees and Hindus but they also played a major role in nourishing and reaffirming Hindu identity and ideals among the resident Gujaratis in a somewhat challenging indigenous culture. A senior sadhu of the BAPS tradition, Sadhu Ishwarcharandas, recalls: For the few BAPS devotees who had emigrated from India in the 1920s, it was initially difficult to sustain their satsang. The reason being, East Africa was far away from
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Pramukh Swami Maharaj in Kenya 1974
BAPS ALSO PLAYED A KEY ROLE IN UNITING OTHER HINDU GROUPS. IT WAS LOOKED UPON AS A GUIDING AND ACTIVE INSTITUTION BY ALL HINDU ORGANIZATIONS IN EAST AFRICA. IT WROTE THE CONSTITUTION FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE HINDU COUNCIL IN EAST AFRICA IN 1971 TO WORK FOR THE UNITY OF ALL HINDUS, AND SERVED AS ITS FIRST ACTING PRESIDENT. BAPS, THROUGH THE HINDU COUNCIL, ALSO APPEALED TO PRESIDENT MOI OF KENYA TO DECLARE DIWALI AS A HOLIDAY FOR HINDUS, WHEREAS EARLIER, NO HINDU FESTIVAL WAS RECOGNIZED OR DECLARED AS A HOLIDAY. BAPS LEADERS, WORKING CLOSELY WITH THE HINDU COUNCIL, HAD INTRODUCED A SYLLABUS FOR RELIGIOUS STUDIES IN SCHOOLS FOR HINDUS WHERE STUDENTS WERE TAUGHT THE BHAGAVAD GITA. THE MANDIRS HELPED DEVOTEES REMAIN RESOLUTE IN THEIR FAITH AND MORALS IN SPITE OF THEIR SMALL NUMBERS AND THE PREVALENCE OF VICES IN SOCIETY. Gujarat. The Africans had a different lifestyle and culture. Many Hindus had given up their vegetarian diet, devotional practices and addictionfree conduct. The primary challenge was to inspire the Swaminarayan devotees to sustain satsang and their morals. The devotees of East Africa resolved to uphold their satsang and the culture that they had brought with them from India. They performed their daily puja, arti,
Yogiji Maharaj welcomed in East Africa 1955
and reading of sacred texts, out of their deep thirst for satsang. After work, when they had free time, they held spiritual assemblies, sang bhajans, did seva, and celebrated festivals. Such intense practice of satsang may not have been possible had they been in India because of their social engagements and responsibilities. Followers report that a major reason why satsang survived in its early days was the deep religious faith of women in the Gujarati households. They had continued their devotional practices in their homes despite their husbands not fully following them. They also inculcated the culture and faith in their children. Mahendrabhai Patel explained: The mandirs provided a place to assemble, offer regular worship, observe purity, consolidate their theology and philosophy, and perform rituals. Some Gujaratis in East Africa said that their forefathers were Swaminarayan, but they themselves were unaware of who Bhagwan Swaminarayan was and how to perform the rituals of arti, puja, and so on. The mandirs provided opportunities for them and their children to learn and participate in Swaminarayan activities, thus restoring and developing their spiritual and cultural identity. The Hindus of other sampradayas appreciated the practice of Hindu traditions, festivals, and rituals in the Swaminarayan mandirs. Followers of other religions also began to understand and appreciate the Hindu faith. The sudden expulsion of Gujaratis from Uganda in 1972 by President Idi Amin created a big void in the mandirs in Uganda. Thirty thousand Gujaratis were expelled and their property and wealth confiscated. The Ugandan government seized the BAPS
mandirs in Kampala, Jinja, and Tororo and converted them into schools and medical dispensaries. Through the valiant efforts of the devotees, the murtis of BAPS mandirs in Uganda were ‘saved’ and were later consecrated by Pramukh Swami Maharaj in Surat, New York and London respectively. While Asians in Kenya did not experience such drastic treatment as the expulsion from Uganda, they did face increasing difficulties. For example, the Trade Licensing Act of 1966 decreed that no licence be issued to non-citizens. New licences for Asian citizens were not countrywide but restricted to certain zones, and usually to the least profitable ones. Many who were Commonwealth citizens wanted to leave for Britain and eventually negotiations led to acceptance by India and Britain of a limited number from East Africa. In addition, the High Commissioner for India helped negotiate with the Indian Government arrangements for them to take ‘tools of their trade’ to India without customs duty. It was a difficult time for Asians in East Africa. Many of those devotees who left East Africa later became prominent devotees and trustees involved in the growth of the BAPS Swaminarayan community in UK and Europe. They played a key role in the establishment of the first traditional spired shikharbaddh Hindu mandir outside of India, consecrated in 1995 by Pramukh Swami Maharaj in Neasden, London. Amongst others, these included Vinod H. Patel (son of Harmanbhai M. Patel) and Vinu Bhattessa (son of Gordhanbhai Bhattessa), both originally from Nairobi. Pramukh Swami Maharaj’s efforts saw the establishment of more children’s centres, youth centres, women’s centres, and Asian Voice & Gujarat Samachar 2019 - Kenya Special
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Early gathering of East Africa devotees in 1930s
The large number of BAPS devotees who migrated to the UK as refugees contributed to the growth of BAPS Swaminarayan Hinduism in London and other cities. Sir Charles Cunningham, a senior civil servant and chairman of the Uganda Resettlement Board, describes the resilience of the Indians who came to settle in Britain after the expulsion: When nearly thirty thousand people were suddenly expelled from Uganda and had to come, often penniless, to start a new life in Great Britain, their calmness and dignity, their readiness to accept hardship, the uncomplaining way in which so many of them who had known success and prosperity began again at the bottom of the ladder, impressed us greatly. It was evident that they had been sustained by a deep religious faith which had enabled them to accept adversity and to rise above it. (Dave 1974, 7) mandirs through his twelve visits to East Africa between 1974 and 2007. His relentless efforts through the decades culminated in the opening of a beautiful traditional spired shikharbaddh mandir in Nairobi on 29 August 1999. Carved and created in accordance with India’s ancient architectural tradition found in the Shilpashastras, the BAPS Shri
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Donations of foodstuffs and clothes Swaminarayan Mandir in Nairobi was the first traditional mandir of its are provided to orphanages, kind to be constructed on the hospitals and the poor. Medical African continent. camps are also regularly held at the Other mandirs in Kenya include mandirs. Mombasa, Nakuru, Kisumu, Eldoret, Mahant Swami Maharaj (b.1933), Kakamega, Bomet, Busia and the current guru of BAPS, visited Oyugis; in Uganda include Kampala, Kenya on his first foreign tour as Jinja, Tororo, Gulu, Iganga and Lira; guru in 2017 and continues the and in Tanzania include Dar-eslegacy of his gurus Yogiji Maharaj Salaam, Mwanza, Arusha and and Pramukh Swami Maharaj in Tanga. nourishing the spirituality of the devotees of East Africa. Currently in Kenya, BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha has 1 shikharbaddh mandir and 8 hari mandirs and conducts 162 satsang assemblies for children, youths and women every week; in Uganda, 6 hari mandirs and 124 satsang assemblies; and in Tanzania, 4 hari mandirs and 29 satsang Pramukh Swami Maharaj with President Jomo Kenyatta, 1974 assemblies. The continent of Africa as a whole has 1 shikharbaddh mandir and 29 hari mandirs conducting over 510 satsang assemblies every week. The mandir activities in Nairobi and Dar-es-Salaam also include charitable volunteer services to society irrespective of class, creed or colour. Mahant Swami Maharaj with President Uhuru Kenyatta, 2017
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Shree Vallabhdham Haveli, located on 4th Parklands Avenue in Nairobi, was inaugurated and established by H.D.H Vaishnavacharya Shree Dwarkeshlalji Mahodayshree (Kadi, Ahmedabad). Shree Vallabhdham Haveli was inaugurated and established on the auspicious day of Shravan Sud Agyaras (Pavitra Ekadashi) on 18th August 2002 making it the first ever Haveli on the continent of Africa. Shree Vallabhdham Haveli is also Acharyashree’s first inaugurated Haveli. Residing in this Haveli is the enchanting Swaroop of Shreenathji named ‘Gopallalji’. The Haveli is managed by Pushtimargiya Vaishnav Sangh which was established by Pujya Jejeshree. The function of this body is to manage the Haveli and ensure that it follows Acharyashree’s Agya which is to spread and strengthen the moral, religious as well as cultural standards, especially amongst the young generation. Pushtimargiya Vaishnav Sangh has various branches including Sakha Vibhag, Sakhi Vibhag, Utsav Vibhag, Kirtan Vibhag, Baal Vibhag, Kishor & Kishori Vibhag, Kitchen Vibhag & Phoolghar Vibhag, which all work hand in hand to serve Shreeji in the best way possible. On 11th June 2017, with the blessings of HDH Vaishnavachrya Shree Dwarkeshlalji, Shree Vallabhdham Haveli – Nav Nirman project was initiated for the benefit of our upcoming generations. The Nutan Bhavan will consist of parking for over 100 Vehicles, a spacious and modern style Vaishnav Kitchen and Dining Hall, a Grand Satsang Hall with facilities for professional dance performances, Vaishnav Aavas, a ‘Bhavya’ Kamal Chowk, Nij Mandir & Mezzanine Darshan Chowk, amongst many other facilities, all on 100,000 square feet land. The Nutan Bhavan has been built with ancient Haveli designs and architecture, as well as modern high-class facilities to benefit a Vaishnavs darshan experience and to provide a feel of Nathdwara. The project has now almost completed and Shree Vallabhdham Haveli Nutan Bhavan will be inaugurated in March 2020 with a ten day grand function to welcome Shreeji back to his new abode as well as to celebrate unity amongst Hindus of Nairobi. This is a day that all the Nairobi Vaishnavs are looking forward to.
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Sewa Singh
Atkar's Story untold HOCKEY, PRINT APPRENTICESHIP & CARE HOMES
HE WAS SIX MONTHS OLD WHEN SEWA SINGH ATKAR LEFT PUNJAB WITH HIS MOTHER TO JOIN HIS FATHER TO NAIROBI, THE CAPITAL CITY OF KENYA IN 1957. STARTING WITH HUMBLE BEGINNINGS, HIS FATHER SADHU SINGH ATKAR, OWNED A GARAGE 'ATKEEDS GARAGE' ON GROGAN ROAD, A COMMERCIAL HIGH STREET IN NAIROBI IN THOSE DAYS. BUT SEWA OR 'SAV' AS HIS FRIENDS AFFECTIONATELY CALL HIM WAS ONLY 15 YEARS OLD WHEN HIS FATHER PASSED AWAY LEAVING HIM A PRECIOUS AND A LIFE-SAVING LEGACY OF £10,000. WITHIN SIX MONTHS OF HIS FATHER'S UNTIMELY DEMISE, SAV MADE ONE OF THE MOST CRUCIAL DECISIONS OF HIS LIFE- THE CHOICE OF MOVING TO ENGLAND. 52
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oung, determined and ambitious, Sav came to the UK without having any concrete plans of working into a particular industry. Clutching his mother's hand with his younger sister beside him, he spent the first few days in London staying at his relative's place. “I used to attend the college at Waltham Forest during the weekdays. But during the weekends, I started setting up stalls at markets in Whitechapel and Petticoat Lane in the early morning sometimes starting at 4am, in all weathers be it rain or shine and I would spend the evenings working at the cinema as an usher,” recalls Sav. London in those days was a hub of the cultural movements such as 'Skinheads' and 'Mind your language'. Areas like Mile End, Whitechapel, were predominantly full of white supremacists and Sav recalls of instances where he was often the subject of “English jokes”. But, Sav's friendly nature and a positive outlook towards everything around him, helped him in becoming fast friends with people from the “white community”. And, he says, that he was fortunate to never have been physically and verbally abused. He thinks, that the art of integrating with the 'English community', lies in respecting each individual's beliefs and values. “The problem starts when you begin enforcing your beliefs and values on others. You don't have to give up on your principles but if you force them to do things according to your culture then you tend to become an irritation. It is like a fly coming in and creating nuisance,” he explains.
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PRINT APPRENTICESHIP AND FLEET STREET Having accomplished high grades in technical science back in college, Sav was able to secure a print apprenticeship at the Daily Mirror on Fleet Street. He reminisces about the two years he had spent as the only Indian apprentice at an English firm. In the following year, he secured a job at Gem Print and over the years became a master in the field of four-colour printing otherwise known as Lithography. “Today, everything is computerised but back in those days it was a manual process. We had to be very careful working with the ducts and passing the colours, and sometimes we had different machines. So, we had to work accordingly,” he recalls. He says he received a competent salary at work. But Sav, a firm believer of the idea of 'striving for a better life', took another bold step. He bought a printing machine for himself so, that he could spend his evenings at home, printing wedding cards. But they say that fortune favours the brave and he was among the first few people in East London who started this business of printing Indian wedding cards. “Often, my sister and mother would help me out. But they had their own roles to play- my mother used to work at a clothes factory in Aldgate and my sister was still studying,” he recalls.
“YAARANA” RESTAURANT : FRIENDS WHO BECAME FAMILY But it is around this time in 1979 when Sav met Ashwin and Rashmi Patel, who owned a corner shop at Asian Voice & Gujarat Samachar 2019 - Kenya Special
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High Road Leyton. Sav and the Patels together fermented the idea of establishing a printing business at the spare space behind the corner shop. This idea was the foundation for the birth of 'S&A Print' where the initials of the business stood for Sav and Ashwin. During the following months, the friends became family over meals of cheese and tomato sandwiches and occasions like Raksha Bandhan where every year on the Hindu festival, Rashmi and Ashwin’s wives would tie the sacred thread (rakhi) on Sav's wrist. He recalls that their 'yaraana' (friendship), was so strong that they bought a Greek restaurant only a few blocks away from their printing press. “We converted the Greek place into an Indian restaurant and named it 'Yaarana' after Amitabh Bachan's blockbuster movie was released around the same time,” he recalls. But two years later in 1983 after Sav got married to Kuldeep Kaur, who is also from Kenya, he sold off his restaurant, and his printing business. It was time for the entrepreneurial Sav to once again experiment with something new and this time he sowed his monies in a corner shop in a small village called Yapton in West Sussex. In those days corner shops used to have traditional hours and Sav extended those hours waking up at the crack of dawn and closing only as midnight approached. “We were the shop where you could buy alcohol, grocery, videos, cigarettes anything and everything. And in a span of five years I gradually bought all the other shops in the village apart from the fish and chip shop, I also bought the post office and even converted the village hall into a supermarket,” he says. But working 24/7 round the clock included delivering newspapers, in the whole of Yapton and the surrounding areas, to handling the shops, something that started to eat away a lot of his time that he wanted to devote to his family.
CARING FOR FAMILY AND BUILDING CARE HOMES “I had a family...I had children who I wanted to spend quality time with. So, I thought that I had to look for another business opportunity and I found my business in care homes in
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Southampton in 1989,” he says. Over the years, Sav bought a couple more places which he transformed into high quality care homes and established his first ever purpose built 55-bed care home in Langdon near Basildon. But three months after building the facility, he sold it off to Southern Cross. Over the years, he has repeated a similar process where he has built over 30 new care homes, mostly working with corporates across the board. Gradually, the Atkars went into reconstruction of pubs and redevelopment of properties- from hotels to children’s day nurseries and with another part of their business looking into building retirement homes. In 2014, Sav, decided to take a back seat and handed over the reigns of his business to his son, Harnoop, the new CEO of the company who oversees the growth of the company and manages the daily business operations. “I am semi-retired in my business and I have limited my role to acquiring properties and focussing on land deals. Reflecting on his childhood days back in Kenya, Sav talks about the relative solitude and the carefree lifestyle of the countryside. “Life was different in Kenya because I never thought about bills. I never woke up in the morning thinking will there be food at home at night? There are things that you take for granted when you have parents looking out for you.
“Life in Kenya used to be different. I loved playing hockey after school, running around with friends on Saturdays. I didn't have to go to work,” he says. But Sav has loved working and even today, he likes having a busy schedule at work and developing new activities which includes his recent quest to learn French. “I have never seen life as a struggle. It was just a routine life where I had to work and pay bills like everyone else only that I used to probably work more than others but that is because I used to love it,and still do, he says. Sav also has two daughtersAvneet and Balkinan Atkar. He is enjoying the relative peace of his semi-retired life and is excited to become a grandfather very soon.
“THE PROBLEM STARTS WHEN YOU BEGIN ENFORCING YOUR BELIEFS AND VALUES ON OTHERS. YOU DON'T HAVE TO GIVE UP ON YOUR PRINCIPLES BUT IF YOU FORCE THEM TO DO THINGS ACCORDING TO YOUR CULTURE THEN YOU TEND TO BECOME AN IRRITATION. IT IS LIKE A FLY COMING IN AND CREATING NUISANCE.”
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Chronicling Immigration: 'Best of 3 worlds' Hansa Pankhania rexit and the UK's decision to leave the EU has cast a fresh spotlight on immigration- a contentious subject that Hansa particularly decided to focus on in her latest book 'Best Of 3 Worlds'. “I am an immigrant from East Africa but my ancestors are originally from India. It is perhaps, for this reason that I chose to highlight this issue in light of the contemporary debate around immigration in the UK that has gripped the country by its horns,” says Hansa Pankhania. Currently based in Birmingham Hansa is orignially from Thika, a small town in Kenya and a former British colony before it had achieved their independence from the colonial Raj in 1963. Today besides Hansa quite a considerable population of Kenyan Asians are settled in the UK following the exodus of Asians from East African countries including Kenya. According to the census reports of 2011, about 69% of residents who were Kenyan in the UK identified themselves as Asian. But rarely has the exodus of Kenyan Asians been discussed in mainstream media. Hansa hopes to change the negative approach to discussions around immigration. “I believe, it is time to redress the lack of first-person narratives of those subject to colonial rule in the British Empire. And my book is an annecdotal record of my journey as I traverse through countries and soak the different cultural values of Africa, Asia and Europe. “This book is an attempt at
B
resolving the conflict of living in Britain, while hailing from Kenya and India. I try to banish the guilt of being loyal to a country which ‘oppressed’ my ancestors in East Africa and South Asia. But most fundamentally, I discuss how
diversity can enrich our world and bring people together,” she explains. Although, a professional stress management and well-being counsellor, Hansa is a habitual author. Today, through the power of her pen, she aims to reach out to as many people in the community to resonate positive energies at a time when the happiness index is believed to be at the lowest. Writing, to her, is a means to an end through which she intends to communicate the methods through which people can be less stressed, happier, and healthier. In this book she reflects on her childhood memories of staying with
her family and discovers the simpler ways of joy. But she also describes how foods, languages, music, attires, and material objects, among other things can become powerful symbols for countries to extend their soft powers to build a global village. Perhaps, this is best illustrated through the book's central metaphor- 'a pile of rotis'. But rewinding down the memory lane to her 7-year-old self, Hansa also writes of 'kitenge' and 'kikoys', traditional costumes in Kenya, her fondness for yoga and the ease of conversing in Swahili. Eventually, she writes about the transition in moving to England and adapting to the poles-apart cultural landscape. “The moral of my story is that in the end it is not the place, size of the house or material things but people that matter. Especially the need to be with people who show unconditional love and acceptance and humanitarian values which have been passed on to us through generations,” she says. The book's central theme is to create awareness about the contributions that India and Kenya made to Britain’s colonial history and national identity. But it particularly highlights the lack of understanding and education among today's youth pertaining to the UK's colonial history and why it is an important subject to be discussed in a Brexit prone UK to address debates around racism and immigration. Her book is now available on Amazon. Asian Voice & Gujarat Samachar 2019 - Kenya Special
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‘THE ART OF GIVING’: ADVOCATE'S GIFT TO HIS WIFE
KALA RAICHURA KALA RAICHURA'S WORLD REVOLVED AROUND HER BELOVED HUSBAND LATE PURUSHOTTAM VANRAVAN RAICHURA. A SIMPLE WOMAN LEADING A SIMPLE LIFE, KALA MARRIED HER ADVOCATE HUSBAND AT THE TENDER AGE OF 16. BUT LITTLE DID SHE KNOW THAT HER MARRIED LIFE WOULD FALL APART ONLY AFTER 30 YEARS BECAUSE OF THE UNTIMELY DEMISE OF HER HUSBAND, LEAVING HER ALONE, LOST AND DEVASTATED IN KISUMU, KENYA ON THE AUSPICIOUS OCCASION OFDUSSERA IN 1985.
ow, celebrating her 80th birthday at the 'Lohana Community Complex PV Raichura Centre', in Croydon, Surrey a centre built in fond memory of her philanthropist husband, Kala is an institution in herself in London. A devout follower of the spiritual and religious guru Pujya Morari Bapu, she celebrated the occasion with relatives, friends and neighbours chanting 111 Shree Hanuman Chalisa prayers. But how did Kala pick up the scattered pieces of her life in Kenya, travel to the UK with a bag full of warm memories of her happy married life and ever since devote her whole life to community service? “It was the morning of Dusshera on 22nd October 1985,” Kala murmurs, struggling to hold her tears at bay. A pin-drop silence follows at her modest house in Thornton Heath, Surrey on a warm Thursday afternoon as she re-collects the tragic day, still crystal clear in her memory today.
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Kala Raichura with P V Raichura
WINNING A COURT CASE BUT LOSING THE BATTLE WITH LIFE “That day, like every other day, I gave him his handkerchief and handed over the briefcase to him. That was our last day together. He
Hanuman, Pujya Morari Bapu, Tulsidas Morjaria, Jayaben Morjaria, Vanravan Raichura and Kastur Raichura
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went to court as usual and I went to the temple to prepare for Dussehra festivities. He was fighting a case in court, but once the session finished, he suddenly felt uneasy and in a matter of seconds, he collapsed right inside the court room and his spirit
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SHRI PURUSHOTTAM VANRAVAN RAICHURA, ADVOCATE Originally from Raval, Saurashtra, and raised in Kisumu, Kenya, Purushottam Raichura was born on November 13, 1929. He was only six months young when he lost his father. After completing his primary education in Kisumu, he went to Mombasa for his further studies, and for two years, stayed in the Lohana Boarding House. Raichura was extremely intelligent and earned first place in the entire coastal region following which, he traveled to India for higher education. Her enrolled in Sir LA Shah college in Ahmedabad, and with the mentoring of Professor Kharod, he received his LLB degree. He soon returned to Kisumu and joined the prestigious Koli Patel and Raichura Solicitors. In a very short time, with the help of his wit and wisdom, Raichura became a partner in the law firm and his reputation preceded him across Kenya. In 1957, Shri Purushottam Raichura got married Kala. Shri Purushottam Raichura has served as a trustee in the Lohana Mahajan Trust, a governor in the Kisumu Boys School, a secretary in the Indian Association, a founding member of the Kisumu National Chamber of Commerce and Industries, and councillor in the Kisumu Nagarpalika.
left his body without any struggle. Those were the bad times for me; ones I didn't expect at a time when I could not perceive a life alone,” she recalls. She reveals about the “suicidal” thoughts that had taken root in her dreams following her husband's death and how his spirit guided her to immerse her faith in Pujya Morari Bapu who became her inspirational mentor and guided her to peace. “Bapu put his hand on my head
Young and a little shy, Kala blushed at her father's proposal but having complete faith in his wisdom and decision making capacity, she left the choice to him but did have her on own set of conditions. “From the very beginning I wanted to marry someone who did not have any addictive habits related to drinking or smoking,” she says. Kala talks about how fortunate she is that her father was a treasurer of the Lohana Boarding School,
(L-R) Ramesh Morjaria, P V Raichura, Ramnik Morjaria amd Arun Morjaria
and a sked me to recite the 40 Hanuman Chalisa a day, and told me that I had to live for Raichura's sake. Since 1998, following my mother's death I would dedicate 111 paaths everyday owing to the blessings showered by Hanuman dada and my beloved husband. Even today, Raichura is my guru, my husband, my God, friend, child, hero, and my support system,” she speaks fondly. But, tears give way to smiles as she reminisce s of the initial days when her father first introduced her to late husband. “I remember I was only 16 when my father first asked me about the kind of man that I wanted to marry?” asked Tulsidas Gordhandas Morjaria, Kala's father.
through which he was well aware of Raichura's education. A straightforward advocate who never believed in beating around the bush and delaying things even in his personal life, Raichura immediately asked if she was interested in marrying him when they first met. Kala speaks about discussing her reservations about marrying at such a young age and instead remained engaged to him for two years- a courtship period spent exchanging letters and understanding each other. “Through his letters, he acquainted me with his family members and I gauged that his need to do go od for the society, courage, honesty, and love, were deeply embedded in him.”
DONATIONS MADE BY KALA IN SHRI PURUSHOTTAM RAICHURA'S MEMORY • 1991, Revived a primary school in Pujya Morari Bapu's village Talgaajarda • Rs 5 Lakhs in Shri Jalaram Raghukul Sarvajanik Hospital • Established the Shri PV Raichura Memorial Clinical Laboratory • Muni Seva Ashram, Goraj Vadodara (£3500) • Shri Purushottam V Raichura Bhavan – Lohana Boarding House, Rajkot (Rs 31 Lakh) and £10,000 on behalf of the entire family • Donated own four-bedroom bungalow to Sanatan Mandir Kisumu (2002) • PV Raichura Memorial Volleyball Trophy • 51,000 shillings donated to Ram Mandir, Nakuru (Heerji Bhagat) (1986) • Jalaram Mandir, Kisumu (2 Lakh Shillings) • £150,000 donated for a Shri PV Raichura Centre in The Raghuvanshi Association, Croydon and £10,000 on behalf of the entire family • £55,000 donated to Jalaran Prarthana Mandal for Shri PV Raichura Hall • 2 million Kenyan shillings donated for a bore well in a Kenyan tribal region • Rs 10 Lakh donated for a Shri PV Raichura Hall in Dwarka Jalaram Temple • Purushottam Prasad Hall built in a girls' school in Junagadh with the blessings of Pujya Bapu Asian Voice & Gujarat Samachar 2019 - Kenya Special
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(L-R) Pradip Dhamecha (OBE), Veena Dhamecha, Kala Raichura, Girish Patel, Lord Dolar Poppat, Lady Sandhya Poppat, Rajni Raichura and CB Patel
As our conversation continues, Kala retrieves an old photo album which was stored carefully in the back of the cupboard and in a brief walk down the memory lane, she paints a beautiful landscape of Kisumu, a small coastal town in Kenya where she shared her life with her husband. “We got married on January 20, 1957, in Mombasa's Lohana Guest House with 20 of Raichura's friends including Khodidasbhai Dhamecha (Dhamecha Cash and Carry), Chhaganbhai Pau, Kantibhai Raichura.
LEADING A SPIRITUAL LIFE: BHAKTI, SHAKTI AND SHANTI RE-BONDING WITH MY HUSBAND, PARENTS AND FAMILY “Raichura family were firm believers of the Vaishnav faith. Back at my father's house, I used to worship Panchdev Ganesh, ShivShakti, Suryanarayan, and the Guru. But on the second day of our wedding, Raichura respected my beliefs and gave me the permission to worship Shiv-Shakti,” she recalls. Kala speaks about the “queen size life” her husband had gifted to her right from insisting about have meals together to ensuring they had distributed their
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work equally between themselves. She recollects how they had lived a well attuned life without ever having any disagreements. And while they lived in Kisumu, they had also visited Britain traveled across Europe, Africa, and Switzerland. Today, taking inspiration from her mentor Morari Bapu and her late husband, Kalaben donates massive amounts of money to organisations in Kenya, India, and the UK. Aside from that she devotes her life to “bhakti” and “satsang” but she is also aware of the saints and sadhus who appear to be religious for the namesake. Raichura had liste ned to Pujya Morari Bapu's katha twice in Kisumu, in 1977 and 1980, and Bapu came to them in the form of a blessing. Shri Raichura always said, “Keep your house and hearts clean. If you don't condemn others, God will be with you always.” After Raichura's demise, newspapers in East Africa wrote
about him and his contribution to the community services for five consequtive days. Leading advocates, solicitors, la wyers, and judges from other nations offered prayers. Soon, after his death, Kala moved to the UK with her mother Jayaben in 1988 and settled in 'Raichura Niwas' at Thorton Heath. Her brother, Ramnik, Arun and Ramesh helped her in assuring that she had no issues and was always looked after under all circumstances. Now, every Tuesday, since 1988, Kalaben hosts satsang from 11.00 am to 1.00 pm. She also hosts pooja on every Guru Purnima, and Hanuman Jayanti which sees an attendance of over 60-70 people. Kalaben says, “No matter what I do, it would be nothing compared to the man who I have considered my God. Which is why, I have decided to donate all of his wealth to make his name immortal.”
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HALARI VISA OSHWAL SETTLEMENT IN THE U.K.
The foundation of the Oshwal community can be traced to 70 years after the nirvana of Lord Mahavir. Folklore believes that a Jain Acharya, Shree Ratna Prabhusuriji Maharaj, visited the city of Upkeshpattan (town presently called Oshiya) in Rajasthan and convinced the King and some 125,000 Kshtariyas to adopt the Jain religion. These Jains are Oshwals. Migration has perenially played a dominant feature in the Oshwal community's settlement across the world. Considerable number of Oshwals migrated, around 10th Century A.D., from Rajasthan to Sindh (now in Pakistan). Some moved to Punjab and Kutchh owing to adverse religious, and political conditions. Once again hostile climate in Sindh forced the community to migrate to Kutchh in the early 16th-17th centuries. Yet, in a span of 25 years a sizeable population of these Oshwals moved to the Halar district on the northern coast of Kathiawar, in Gujarat. Jam Rawal was one of the two brothers who had ruled Kutchh in those years. He was forced to flee after the heirs of his brother Jam Hamirji, defeated him in a battle for the control of Kutchh. It is believed that the King had earlier assassinated his brother Hamirji. Having fled his kingdom, the King now formed a new kingdom with Jamnagar as its capital and provided land to the Oshwals for their settlement in 52 villages of the Halar district. These Oshwals were recognised as the Halari Visa Oshwals. Towards the end of the 19th century Oshwals moved again as the land and climatic conditions were not conducive for agriculture. This meant that some Oshwals started moving to other areas in India such as Mumbai, Madhya Pradesh and, Hyderabad. But, hearing of the growing economy
in Africa a few young men ventured to Madagascar and parts of East Africa with the hopes of securing a better future. The construction of East African railways helped in the expansion of the economy and eventually, Oshwals as young as 10-year-olds started arriving by boarding wooden dhows and this trend continued until the late 1950s. This bred a community of successful entrepreneurs, manufacturers, industrialists among others. Recognizing the importance of education as a basic pillar for its future progress the community ensured the development of a new generation of well-educated Oshwals through the provision of educational institutions and facilities. The journey of the Oshwal community to the UK can be traced to the 1930s when five Oshwal students came for higher education but returned home after graduation. Kishorilal Bharmal Nagda (known as Kishorebhai Virani) was the first Oshwal to permanently settle in the U.K. around 1955. While Meghji Pethraj Shah, was the first Oshwal to start a business in this country in 1957. Harkhchand Lakhamshi Shah arrived from Uganda and established a business called Overseas Grocers Ltd with his friends Venichand Khimchand and Ramniklal Karamshi Shah. Oshwals with British passports
began migrating to the U.K, following the independence of the East African countries in 1960s. However, in 1969 the introduction of the Quota Voucher system by British Immigration authorities, limited the number of migrants each year. A substantial number of families eventually moved to the U.K. via this system and most of them settled in the various suburbs of Greater London, Luton, Leicester, Northampton and Wellingborough. Several visionary members of the community, in the U.K. since the 1950s, floated the idea of forming a community organization, along the similar lines to its compatriots in India and East Africa, for the preservation of its unique religious identity, culture and heritage. This resulted in the formation of the Oshwal Association of the U.K. in 1968. Since then the Association has progressed to become a Registered Charity in 1974 with its Life Membership being over 16,000. The Oshwal Association owns a property in Potters Bar, in the leafy Hertfordshire countryside. It houses the headquarters of the Association, in a listed mansion, as well as two fully equipped modern assembly halls which are suitable for all functions. The community has also built Europe’s first traditional domed Jain Temple, which was inaugurated in August 2005. It also owns properties in Kingsbury (North West London), Hounslow and Croydon (South London), to provide localized community facilities. Oshwal Association of the UK Oshwal Centre, Coopers Lane Road, Northaw, Hertfordshire, EN6 4DG, U.K., Tel: +44 (0)1707 643 838 Charity Reg. No. 267037. Asian Voice & Gujarat Samachar 2019 - Kenya Special
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Each Candle To Light Up Another Professor Parikh igniting minds
Sri Balmukund Parikh working late into the night.
oday, his son Sharad Balmukund Parikh relays his father's lifetime achievements and contributions to educational, religious, and charitable organisations. “My father always believed that education was the only way to counter the injustices plaguing society. “Coming from a middle-class family, he was also acutely aware that education was an expensive commodity. This could have been one of the reasons for him to become a teacher,” explains Sharad. Sri Balmukund Parikh began life as an ordinary child in the crowded ’poles’ of Baroda (now Vadodara), in Gujarat, India. He studied History and Economics at the University of Bombay to gain in 1935 his Bachelor of Arts Degrees in those subjects. Intent on undertaking to teach as his professional career, he further achieved his Secondary Teachers Training certificate in Baroda in 1936. This enabled him to formally impart classroom education at a time when India was administered under the British Raj. Whilst teaching in schools, he simultaneously started providing private tuition sessions to students
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THE GREATEST FORM OF GIVING, IS PERHAPS, BY IGNITING YOUNG MINDS TO STRIVE FOR KNOWLEDGE. SRI BALMUKUND PARIKH HAD DEDICATED HIS ENTIRE LIFE TO EDUCATING YOUNG DISCIPLES ACROSS THE WORLD. HE LEFT HIS TEACHING LEGACY IN COUNTRIES SUCH AS INDIA, KENYA, AND THE UK, HE KINDLED A SPAPK IN THE COMMUNITY HE LIVED IN, SUCH THAT EACH CANDLE WOULD LIGHT UP ANOTHER. who needed additional guidance. His son recalls that under his disciplined tutelage most children would qualify their exams with flying colours. “From what I have heard, my father followed the principle of never accepting fees from students who wouldn't excel from his lessons. “My mother found it difficult to follow through these values, especially when she was trying to make ends meet. Overall, though, my mother respected my father’s principles of collecting money only when his tutorship was prooved by his students to be excellent,” he recalls.
JOINING GANDHI ON HIS SALT MARCH IN INDIA A disciplinarian and an activist fighting against the malpractices that incarcerate the society, professor Parikh looked up to 'Father of India' Mahatma Gandhi as his idol. Such was the fondness for Gandhi and his “passive” methods of protesting against the then colonial rule that Professor had reportedly joined his salt march. Narrating the incident, Sharad says, “My father had joined Gandhiji in his salt march to protest
against the British rule in India without informing anyone in our family. So, when he had not returned home for five consecutive days, my mother got extremely worried about his disappearance. “This highlights the degree of dedication that my father had towards the community whether it concerned around social services or imparting education,” Sharad exclaims with pride.
SOWING THE SEEDS OF EDUCATION IN AFRICA 1946, a year before India achieved independence from its colonial masters, can be flagged as a turning point in Professor's personal and professional life. An English education officer, who named this dedicated teacher as Professor Parikh, noted his exemplary teaching skills. He suggested that Professor Parikh teach in the Government schools in Kenya, where few good teachers were then available. Professor Parikh liked the suggestion. He braved the then prevailing taboo against crossing the seas, and ventured into the alien lands of unknown Africa. In a dhow he
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made the perilous seven to fourteen day crossing of the Indian Ocean from Bombay, India, to Mombasa, Kenya. His first teaching job in Kenya was on the island of Lamu. Thus, sowing the seeds of education in Africa, Professor enrolled himself in a two-year teaching course at the Government Indian Male Teacher Training Centre, Nairobi. His academic excellence coupled with practical mentorship was recognised by an English civil servant, Mr. Laudman who referred him to pursue a further degree at Bristol University under British Grant. Achieving a Masters in Education at Redland College in 1954, Professor Parikh fought with the internal dilemma of either staying in England or going back to Kenya. But following his utopian principles, he believed it was time to go back and serve his countrymen in Kisumu who needed the most assistance. “My father had soon realised that there was no place like England. But he followed his moral obligation of serving those who needed his services the most. “He has put to task at once and was made the headmaster of Kisumu Boy's High School,” says Sharad. Professor Parikh started recruiting qualified teachers from India to fill the vacant positions as part of his expansion plans for this school. Overseeing the complete development of the school in Kisumu, Professor Parikh hit the ground running and moved to Thika where there was only one school in the whole town, and that, too, only for boys. A firm believer of women empowerment and education for all, Professor Parikh arranged at that school for girls to be admitted and educated all the way to the limit of
that school, to standard 6. During his tenure in Thika, he also introduced the concept of boarding schools to aid those children living at greater distances. In a letter titled 'A Tribute to Mr. Parikh', K. N. Shah, the then Chairman of M. P. Shah Central High Headmaster Parikhji with his staff and pupils, Kisumu, about 1950 School Parents Association, eulogised he managed to buy a nine-bedroom Professor Parikh for his contribution in house in 1956, Golder's Green, the field of education. London. My mother used to work “During the four years as Principal, during the day and we contributed to Mr. Parikh always helped the parents household expenses in whatever in their problems and gave guidance forms we could. from which both parents and the “Soon my father realised that pupils have benefitted immensely. some overseas students found it “Mr. Parikh played an important difficult to look for affordable part in getting the Boys and Girls accommodation and therefore, he Hostels and persuading the Thika converted some of the rooms in Indian Association to our house as boarding donate a Hall to the halls,” Sharad recalls. A FIRM BELIEVER OF school,” wrote K. N. It was sometime WOMEN EMPOWERMENT AND Shah. in the late 1950’s Eventually, EDUCATION FOR ALL, PROFESSOR that the Professor Professor was PARIKH ARRANGED AT THAT SCHOOL FOR decided to move promoted as the permanently to the GIRLS TO BE ADMITTED AND EDUCATED UK intent on inspector of schools in Kenya. ALL THE WAY TO THE LIMIT OF THAT carrying his In the meantime, teaching legacy and SCHOOL, TO STANDARD 6. expertise he was also conscious to the English of his duties towards his classrooms. In the initial family. He ensured that his days, he worked as a relief wife, Hasumatiben, and his children teacher where he was expected to Kalindi, Arun, Gitakumar, Shree and deliver sessions in the absence of Sharad settled in England. Surviving in regular lecturers. However, owing to the UK on a headmaster's salary was cultural differences that formed an not an easy feat. To make ends meet, integral part of the diverse subjects, Sharad recalls his father had pooled Professor Parikh chose to devote his funds from his friends in Kisumu to time and service to religious and buy a house in Golder's Green, spiritual education. Recounting one London. incident, in particular, Sharad says, “My father had collected a few “In one of his first jobs as a relief hundred pounds from his friends and teacher, he was scheduled to what was referred to as “Wet Play Time”. During this hour the students had asked him several questions around football and local sport. “Understanding that children in the UK had different interests, my father decided to channelise his teaching tricks to impart religious and spiritual wisdom.”
IMPARTING RELIGIOUS AND SPIRITUAL EDUCATION TO BEATLES AND THE BRITONS Lamu, Kenya, harbour, about 1948
Thus, Professor Parikh embarked on another journey; one where he Asian Voice & Gujarat Samachar 2019 - Kenya Special
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Vaishnavs had their place of worship. contributed his services to For nearly two years, he consumed strengthening religious and just boiled vegetables and was community organisations. Seminars, appointed the Secretary of speeches, meetings, and public Vallabhnidhi and wrote the Temple's engagements formed an integral part constitution. of his everyday routine. In 1965 Sometime in the 1980s Swami Professor Parikh was instrumental in Prabhupada, famously known as the the inauguration of the Hindu Centre founder-preceptor of the International in a local church hall in Golder's Society for Krishna Consciousness, or Green. Today, Sharad shares the "Hare Krishna Movement" paid a anecdotes of Sunday mornings where they would organise and gather for visit to Professor Parikh. Yet, again prayer ceremonies. This Centre Professor became the centrifugal gradually moved to 39 Grafton force in locating the property where Terrace where they bought a Church the Temple can be built and Hall in Belsize Park. eventually served as the Press A member of the Theosophical Secretary of the Temple. A devotee of Society, the Professor made it his life's the Aurobindo Society, Professor mission to create awareness around Parikh by now had immersed himself the ideologies of the different into delivering religious education to members of the larger factions of the Hindu “MY religion. Sometime in FATHER SHARED INSIGHTS mainstream community. One of the 1970s, he joined INTO THE INTRICACIES OF THE HINDU his disciples forces with Yogi Maharaj of CULTURE AND EDUCATED GEORGE HARRISON included George lead BAPS and was ABOUT RELIGIOUS TRADITIONS AND FAITHS. BUT Harrison, guitarist of crowned BRIAN EPSTEIN WHO WAS THE MANAGER OF THE Beatles. Secretary of the Temple BEATLES AT THAT TIME WAS NOT INTERESTED IN Sharad when it first reminisces the THE ETHOS OF THE HINDU RELIGION. SO, aspects of opened in Neasden. From Hindu culture GEORGE HARRISON AND OTHERS drafting the revolving around INTRODUCED THEIR RECORD LABELTemple's Yoga and meditation “APPLE” LABEL. constitution to that George liked. But organising the inaugural George could not celebrations, he was the cornerstone understand the essence behind these in cementing the Foundation. practices. “Such was the success of the “My father shared insights into the celebrations that Yogi Maharaja intricacies of the Hindu culture and requested my father to leave his educated George Harrison about religious traditions and faiths. But Vaishnav religion and join Brian Epstein who was the manager Swaminarayan faith,” says Sharad. of the Beatles at that time was not In 1977, Professor Parikh interested in the ethos of the Hindu undertook the second-biggest project religion. So, George Harrison and of establishing a temple in Leytonstone particularly for followers others introduced their record labelof the Vaishnav faith. A true follower “Apple” Label. of Gandhiji, Professor adopted the “My father was at the recording of Satyagraha style of a Non-Cothe song “Govinda” and singing the operation Movement to ensure that mantra but his voice was too loud so his vocal cords could not be used,” says Sharad. Harrison produced the Hare Krishna as a single, and spent six months living in Tittenhurst Park, Lennon’s Georgian mansion in Ascot where he went on to record “Imagine”. George Harrison Parikh family in Kisumu, about 1949 brought bhakti-yoga
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to the west with the now ubiquitous “Hare Krishna Mantra”. Such was the ability of the Beatles to reshape the cultural mainstream that the Hare Krishna mantra single sold 70,000 copies on its first day of release. Harrison had bought Bhaktivedanta Manor near Watford and Professor, was instrumental in accruing the Manor as a gift for the Hare Krishna movement in 1973. Professor Parikh had now turned into Pastor Parikh.
SAVING THE HARE KRISHNA TEMPLE When the residence was established as a Temple they did not have any planning permission. But as it grew more famous, large numbers of people started visiting the Temple and disturbed the quaint village life there. Complaints were registered with the local council demanding for the closure of the Temple. As a result, 'Save Hare Krishna Temple' campaign had started with Pastor Parikh along with other prominent members of the Hindu community at the helm of the largest gathering of 30,000 Hindus in the UK protesting against the closure of the Temple. In the meantime, Pastor Parikh had donated his house to Swami Omkarananda from Switzerland for his Ashram and my father was renamed Swami Gitaprakashnanda.
REGISTERED CHARITY “GITA FOUNDATION” As Swami Gitaprkashnanda, Sri Parikh founded a charitable trust under the name of “Hasumati Balukund Parikh Gita Association”. Gita Prakash Foundation is the dream and realisation of Professor Balmukund and Hasumati Parikh. Some of their works include printing of the Bhagavad Gita and complementarily distribution of religious texts, donation of ambulances in Baroda, India, fundraising for Krishna Hospital in Anand, India, supporting food banks and elderly clubs in the London among others. Swami Sri Gitaprakashnanda passed away two days before the beginning of the 2000 millennium. Today his son Sharadkumar Balmukund Parikh carries on the social and educational reforms under the banner of the charitable trust, the “Hasumati Balukund Parikh Gita Association”.
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“HEAL THE WORLD” DR. MAHESH'S HEALING TOUCH TO THE COMMUNITY IN 1975, DR. MAHESH STARTED HIS PRIVATE PRACTISE WITH AN EMPTY CLINIC AND ZERO PATIENTS BUT IN TIME SERVED CLOSE TO 25,000 PATIENTS IN NAIROBI, ALONE. TODAY, FROM WORKING WITH CORPORATES LIKE KENYA AIRWAYS TO RECEIVING THE FORTUNE OF COLLABORATING WITH MOTHER TERESA FOR THE 'MISSIONARIES OF CHARITY', DR. MAHESH PATEL HAS LENT HIS HEALING TOUCH AND MEDICAL WISDOM TO SERVE THE COMMUNITY BOTH IN KENYA AND IN THE UK IN HIS OWN SMALL BUT SIGNIFICANT EFFORT TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE. But compassion alone can cure so many lives at once and having no family background in science meant that he had to scissor his way into medicine without any guidance but unconditional support from his family. Currently settled in New Barnet, London he recalls of the sutures of family support, wife's contribution, community mentors and professional collegues who helped him stitch his medical career together. “My father unlike me was an exceptionally creative person and I remember back in the 1950s he used to sing Gujarati songs at the 'Voice of Kenya' radio station,” says the good doctor with admiration for his late father palpable in his voice.
settled in a small industrial town in Thika in the Kiambu County which is nearly 25 miles from Nairobi where he worked as a teacher at the Thika Primary School. But his passion for poetry and love for music saw him
Not all of us can do great things, but we can do small things with great love. - Mother Teresa
“SUSWARAM” : THE VOICE OF KENYA Late Ramanlal Manorbhai Patel migrated to Nairobi, Kenya along with his wife Late Lalitaben (Revaben) from Vasad in 1945 after being sponsored by his eldest brother Shanabhai Patel. Lalitaben hailed from the renouned Vasad family famously known for running a large pulses based mill and simultaneously owning a tobacco factory. The couple were initally
venturing into scripting songs for 'Voice of Kenya' as “Suswaram”- a pseudonym, Patel was most famous by especially within the Asian diaspora settled in Kenya. “But my father was a firm believer of serving the community and he joined the Kenya police during the Mau Mau uprising,” the doctor continues as he reflects on the similar beliefs that bound the father and son together. While in Kenya, R.M. Patel used
to work at various social and cultural events at the Hindu Community and in 1957 the family finally moved to Nairobi. Recalling about his family life in a small size government quarter in Ngara, today, Dr. Mahesh talks about the foundation of his medical career and speaks about his schooling in Kenya. “I started my school in Thika but later our family had to move to Nairobi and that is where I completed my primary and secondary education. But lack of universities and with limited seats for medicine being available at colleges, I travelled to India to pursue further studies,” recalls Dr. Mahesh.
MEDICAL EDUCATION IN GUJARAT & MEETING DR. HARSHA SARAIYA Born in 1946 in the small town of Vasad, in the Kheda district of Gujarat, India, Dr. Mahesh had a fair sense of the atmosphere in Gujarat.
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him to know about This meant that he accomplished his a charity home degrees in Pre-Science and F.Y. that worked for the Science in Ahmedabad in 1966-67. elderly, disabled & Following these achievements, he orphan children then pursued his graduation in near his clinic. This Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor local charity was of Science (MBBS) in a medical college in Jamnagar, Gujarat in 1968 managed by the 'Missionaries of and achieved the degree in 1973. Charity' under the But amidst learning medicine, he guidance of also happened to meet Dr. Harsha, Mother Teresa. a fellow colleague and his wife There were about today, who he says, has been his “pillar of strength” through the topsy- 120-150 inmates of turvy ride that is their life. d ifferent ages sheltered there “My wife has stood shoulder-toand gradually he shoulder with me in all my involved himself endeavours be it my social activities with other related or even supporting my professional children's welfare life by running her own private activities by practise to looking after our children providing honorary at home,” he remarks proudly. free medical Dr. Harsha came from the services to them. renouned Saraiya family from And it was in 1982 Bhavnagar in Gujarat where three during her visit to generations of her family members were practising dentists. Having Kenya that Mother qualified as doctors both of them got came to know about married in November 1973 and the doctor's contribution to the traveled back to Kenya in 1974. missionary, and thus, she requested Initially, staying with his family, the to meet him. This presented the couple started their careers as doctor with an opportunity to meet medical registrars at 'Kenyatta and be blessed by Mother. National Hospital'. But soon “Mother Teresa visited such charity homes on a frequent after a few years they both basis. But honestly, at that started their own practice time, I didn't know much in 1976. Dr. Mahesh My father about her. It was only opted to establish unlike me was an later that I came to his private know of the practice at the exceptionally creative outskirts of divine and person and I remember Nairobi, in pious soul the that she back in the 1950s he used Ruaraka area was,” he recalls. to sing at the 'Voice of called “But meeting Kenya' radio station. her was a life Kariobangi while Dr. Harsha decided to changing experience for be based at the Nairobi me and she even met my City Centre. But he also parents and children. served as the Principal However, due to continuous Medical Officer with corporate travelling between the various likes Kenya Airways, Firestone towns in Kenya, Mother suffered Tyre Factory, Kenya Breweries, poor health and often kept unwell,” he reminscies. Steel Structure Limited and many Ultimately, Dr. Mahesh's medical others (Principal Medical Officers). expertise helped him in adding another feather to his medical graduate cap- the honour of treating Mother Teresa and looking after her during her short stays in Kenya in all But although Dr. Mahesh worked her moments of illness. And in 1981, with leading industrial heads, but like he joined 'Giants International Twiga his father his heart strings were Club', and eventually became the intertwined with social work and the president of the organisation in 1986, contributing towards the various serving his post for two consequtive charity activities. This paved way for
MISSINIONAIRES OF CHARITY & MEETING MOTHER TERESA
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years.
PERSONAL LIFE AND MOVING TO LONDON But while, Dr. Mahesh & Dr Harsha concentrated on cementing their professional lives and leaving their footprints in the community, having strong familial bonds also made them conscious of starting their own family. And it was born in 1975 that their elder daughter Seetal was born while their son now Dr. Ruchit was born in 1979 in Kenya. Both had their primary education in Nairobi . However, for their secondary education, the couple decided to move to London with a more secured future in mind. “I still remember our last day in Kenya even after all these years. It is crystal clear in my head...the image of hundreds of well wishers who had gathered at the Kenya Airport, only to see us off,” he says. It was on 23rd August, 1988 when the family migrated to London and immediately started working from their very third day of their arrival in the country as a local doctor. “Since, we had practised medicine in Kenya, and to fulfill the requirements of becoming a GP we worked at the Basildon Hospital for about a year- six months in Accident & Emergency and six months in the
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Physiatric section,” he recalls. This was just the beginning and eventually, they started arranging the building blocks of their medical life where they next completed a year of training in General Practice in Wiltshire, Swindon where he bought his first house in the UK. Coupled with their experiences in Kenya, the duo were finally fully able to register themselves as General Practitioners with the General Medical Council in the UK. After moving from Swindon they finally moved to London in 1993. In the following years, Dr. Mahesh started his medical practice at Leyton, East London in partnership with Dr. Phillips and Dr. Harsha started her practice at Wood Greens. Given Dr Mahesh's ability to quickly analyze and diagnose his patients in crisis and emergency, he started
attending emergency cases as well. But he carried his inspiration from his father and Mother Teresa to contribute to the various social activities in London. In 1994, he joined Lions Club of Enfield, London and became the president of the club in 2001. “During my tenure I was able to raise about £97,000 for two major social causes- building a brand new three- storey Girls High School in Bhavnagar which had collapsed in Gujarat’s earthquake and constructed a food dining hall in another Girls Teachers School in a remote tribal area of Rajpipla,” he says. But aside from this, he also contributed to different allied charities in London and continued to work as a member of Lions Club of Enfield and after 20 years of service he finally retired from the club.
TRAGEDY AND COPING STRATEGY Over the years, while he has stitched a lot of scars and closed wounds, there have been natural tragedies which no amount of his medical expetise could prevent- the demise of his mother in 2010 and that of his father in 2016. But through all the ups and downs, Dr. Harsha has enjoyed her medical career, something she says, “was never a job for her” never shirking away from or regretting the responsibilities that came with balancing her family and professional life. And both attribute
their ability to weave the threads of their professional and personal life to the family support they received. “Whatever I have been able to achieve is due to the blessings of my parents and Mother Teresa, along with the strength from my wife,” he says humbly. Today, his daughter Seetal, who is a full-time pharmacist is married to a qualified GP, Dr. Amish Patel. While his son Dr. Ruchit who works as a Consultant Psychiatrist in Hillingdon hospital, is married to Dr. Sneha Patel, a hematologist in Barths Hospitals. Dr. Patel is graced with four grand children- two granddaughters Anaiya and Lara (Seetal) and twin grandchildrenAnouska and Mayan (Dr. Ruchit). “Punctuality and sincerity in all the work you undertake and service to the human race are some of the essential values that we have passed to our children,” he says. But despite being settled in London for as many years, Dr. Mahesh Patel, says- “Kenya is very close to my heart where I have spent some of the most memorable parts of my life. This country has given me loads of love, affection and respect. There are Asians and various other communities who reside with each other without any type of segregation or racism. But I pray that the future generation takes this goodwill ahead. In life it’s not how much we give but how we undertake which matters. With dedication and love even a smaller contribution can leave a greater impact in lifes of many,” he concludes.
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The road not taken: Molo's history through Amritlal's lens KENYA, UGANDA AND TANGANYIKA (CURRENTLY KNOWN AS TANZANIA) WERE COLONIES UNDER THE BRITISH EAST AFRICA IN THE PRE WORLD WAR II EMPIRE BACK WHEN AMRITLAL'S FATHER JAMANDAS NARANBHAI PATEL MIGRATED TO UGANDA FROM BOMBAY, INDIA AS A FELLOW RAILWAY CONSTRUCTION LABOURER. BORN IN UGANDA IN 1934, BUT WITH HIS HERITAGE ROOTED IN INDIA, AMRITLAL MIGRATED TO THE SMALL VILLAGE OF CHANGA, IN GUJARAT TO PURSUE HISPRIMARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION.
IMPORTING RICE FROM PAKISTAN AND FRIENDSHIP WITH DANIEL ARAP MOI
Amrutlal and Lalitaben Patel
ut his heart was never into wrote learning and six months into his course, he dropped out of college, hopped on a ship and moved back to join his father's flour mill in the small town of Molo, Kenya somewhere in the 1950s at the height of the Mau Mau uprising. “My father was very concerned about my safety and advised me to join the National Bank of India,” he recalls. But, having limited qualifications and slogging hours as a mere clerk in the bank presented no excitement to Patel and thus, he once again went back to the family business and this time with plans of expanding beyond wheat and barley.
B
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“We started manufacturing alcohol and selling cigarettes as part of our wholesale business which we operated in partnership with Michael Kimbuja,” says Patel Patel had accquired the Kimbuja Agency, a wholesaling business from his uncle C.Z. Patel who sold it off primarily due to safety concerns and increasing robberies. Back in those days, the wholesaling and licensing business was taken over by him but underterred by the risks around his safety, he continued nevertheless. The company sold everything from sugar to tea sourced from the Brooke Bond Tea and rice. In those days, according to Patel, rice was being imported from Pakistan and wholesalers were allocated with quantities of the commodity following a Quota system. “Following the success of our business in Molo which was inaugurated by Moi who was the Vice President of Kenya, and we started a new branch in Nakuru,” he recalls proudly, leafing through the yellowing pages of the official records and government documents of his time in Molo. Today while sitting in the living room of his two storey apartment in Preston, Patel recalls of the cramped rooms in the village with about 50 houses only where the white colonials dictated the land
and farm ownership reforms. Over time, he and his wife Lalitaben with their children Jayesh and Vinit temporarily moved to Nakuru. But getting children admitted into schools was a task in itself especially for those who were not white or Christians, according to Patel. “My children were denied admission by the principal of one of the most esteemed schools for no fault of his. But my partner, Michael Kimbuja, who was then the Chairman of the Rift Valley in Nakuru ensured that my children's education was not compromised with,” he says.
WORKING WITH THE HIGH COMMISSION AND AFRICAN GOVERNMENT During the colonial rule we suffered segregation to the degree that we were not allowed to enter in hotels owned by the English. But even as Kenya attained independence from the English, the Asians who had migrated from India to the East African countries were caught in the storm of 'Africanisation'. “We were 'othered' to the degree that we were not allowed to sit in hotels and people would spit at our faces in broad daylight in public places,” he recalls. It was in the middle of this storm that Patel started working with the Indian and British High Commission in Kenya to fight racism and build a
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bridge between the Indians and Africans in order to create a sustainable economic model that would prosper Kenya. In his effort of paying tributes to the contributions of the Indians in building Kenya's infrastructure, he re-named various roads in Molo, including the Pandit Nehru Road in Molo today and the Wabura street in Nairobi. But in 1968, and owing to Africanisation laws and security concerns, Patel and his family decided to come back to India. “I stayed in Baroda for a year where I explored my business ventures. However, Indian economy was in its early years after independence and after careful consideration, I decided to move to the UK,” he explains.
HOSTILE NEIGHBOURS AND BLUE COLLAR JOBS He moved to the UK sometime during the early 1970s and bought his first and only home in the UK for just £6,150. Although, today multiculturalism and integration is at the heart of London, Patel recalls of the days when racism was so rampant in the UK that Asians were ghettoised in pockets of Willesden and Harlesden, areas dominated mostly by the Africans. “It was difficult trying to assimilate with the host community especially as even our neighbours were initially very aloof from us,” Patel recalls. But Lalitaben had Indian hospitality ingrained in her character and she did not allow western hostility to put a dampner in her attempt of building relations and it was during Diwali when she started preparing Indian savouries and delicacies as gifts for her neighbours. And while she managed the
Amritlal Patel planting one of the 50 trees at Dollis Hill Park on the 50th Indian Independence Day hosted by Brent Indian Association. The tree was planted in tribute to his village Palana, India
(L-R) Amita, Jayesh, Dr. Sheel, Shaan, Dr. Shaniel, Reeya, Hema, Vinit, Amritlal, and Lalitaben Patel.
household chores, she was also not blind to the financial difficulties that they were swamped and it was in light of this economic background that three months later she managed to find a job at the nearby factory “Rima” which used to work with making heaters, and utensils. Back in those days, the labourers were paid by the hour, much like today but Asian workers' rights were heavily exploited but Lalitaben had the bigger hindrance of not having an practical work experience. “I told the owner of the industry to give me a chance and if I wouldn't be performing according to their requirements then they can fire me. “But I was fast in my work and unlike other fellow labourers I was sincere to my work, delivering to the best of my capability and therefore, in my very first week, not only did they give me the rightful wages but also provided an extra bonus and hence, I earned a record £75 in that week,” says the proud Gujarati woman. Over the years however, her ambitious and hard-working attitude coupled with the intent of financially an emotionally supporting her husband meant that she had taken up various other jobs including working the GEC later. While the woman of the house tried to make
ends meet, Patel himself started off working at a nearby Government Post Office as a customer services agent. “I wasn't qualified with a degree. Yet, my administrative experience of working with the Governments back in Kenya had been extremely useful and helped me in dealing with bookings, compiling salary slips among others,” recalls Patel. Today, living a semi-retired life with his family settled in the UK, Patel recollects of all the incidents when he had been discriminated against in work places and all the instan ces when the couple had fought against exclusion from pension schemes to benefits. His son Jayesh is a Pharmacist and Vinit a solicitor. Over the years, having accumulated enough finances, Patel had dibbled in various businesses from starting his own corner shop in Ruislip to later joining his son's chemist shop in Richmond Road West.Patel has two daughter-in-laws Hema and Amita, both pharmacists and has four grandchildren Dr. Shaniel, Reeya, Dr. Sheel and Shaan, a solicitor.
DONATIONS MADE BY AMRITLAL PATEL • Rs. 20,00,000 in the fond memory of Kailash Dham Crematorium • Rs. 6,00,000 to the health department in Charusat, Gujarat • Rs. 2,00,000 to the D. Z. Patel Higher Secondary School in Anand, Gujarat • Rs. 2,00,000 to C. U. Ramanbhai Pharmacy College • Rs. 1,50,000 to I. L. Patel High School • Rs. 1,00,000 to the community hall in Palana • £16,500 and a room donate d to the 27 Gam Pattidar Samaj
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FOLLOWING IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF RUGNATH JERAM MORJARIA THAKKAR THE WELL KNOWN AND RESPECTED THAKKAR FAMILY IN THE UK, FORMERLY OF NAKURU, KENYA, SPEAKS ABOUT HOW THEY ARE FOLLOWING IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF THEIR FOREFATHER WHO DEDICATED HIS LIFE TO PROMOTE HINDU TRADITIONS, VIRTUES, VALUES AND CULTURE. India is a land bursting with Hindu religion, culture and values. Saurastra, also known as Kathiawar, comes under the state of Gujarat and is an integral part of this unique country. In 1880, a boy was born in the Vaishnav family of Jerambhai Morjaria, in a small village named Vervada which is a few kilometres away from Porbandar. His family was known for following the principles of virtues, patience and sheer dedication. This boy was named Rugnath Jeram Thakkar. From a young age, he was surrounded by saints, devotees and brahmins. He had a keen interest in bhajans and other religious and community activities. He had been
Late Shantilal Thakkar
watching people travel abroad by sea and he too had the ambition of travelling to a foreign land to explore the world. With that deep seede d desire, and by the grace of God, his dream and desire turned into reality when he travelled to Kenya via Zanzibar in 1898. He decided to settle down in Nakuru, Kenya as this seemed to be a good base for
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business and Hindu integration. Naturally, in the beginning he faced a lot of hardship, but with self courage and faith in the Almighty, his determination strengthened and he overcame many hurdles to start h is own business. His business prospered tenfold over the years and he built a well respected and reputable name in the community and society. In spite of being busy in growing his business, he never neglected his society duties and continued his selfless service. In 1915 his first child Maganlal was born followed by four more sons, namely Shantilal, Natulal, Chimanlal and Chhotubhai. Each of them throughout their own lives earned
late lalitaben Thakkar
great respect in the Community. They contributed towards regenerating, a rundown ‘Thakorji’s Haveli’ and went on to build a Gaushala in the village of origin, Vervada in India. The family, later known as the ‘Thakkar brothers’, were well known and respected in business, political and social circles in Kenya.
Shree Rughnath Jeram Morjaria (Thakkar)
Maganbhai and Shantilalbhai, the eldest sons, participated in politi cs. Shortly after Kenya’s Independence in December 1963 they were both appointed as the first Asian Councillors in Nakuru. Shantilalbhai was the first Asian known to have owned a farm in the popular Rift Valley area. With their political strengths the Thakkar family were able to contribute greatly towards the development of Nakuru. A crematorium ground was built for all Hindus, along with great achie vements such as a Hindu Association being founded, and they established a large hall for the Lohana community. A unique temple of Radha Krishna was also built in Nakuru by the family. The family proudly continued the same selfless service to their community and saints that was paved by their father Rugnathbhai Jeram, who sadly passed away in 1967 in Nakuru. Rameshbhai Thakkar, son of Late Shree Maganbhai, is currently residing in Nakuru, and has expanded the sphere of activities of the family in their home town. He has devoted a great amount of time and has been supporting various charities in East Africa. Rameshbhai also presently sits on various advisory boards in Nakuru such as Moi
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Primary School, Shree Krishna pilgrimage for Jalarambapa devotees Mandir, Lohana Mahajan of Nakuru, from all over the world. The temple Hindi Council of Kenya and the was transformed into one of the most Lohana Community of East Africa. spectacular visions of spiritual Late Shree Shantibhai left Kenya architecture, and includes in 1972 and came to the United picturesque paintings by speciali st painters from India, Europe and UK. It Kingdom and settled in Leicester with has also become an international his wife and ten children. Like his tourist and educational attraction, father, he also faced a lot of hardship and is regularly visited by religious in the transition of moving countries. saints, authors and students. But with pati ence and self-belief, righteous and good virtues and a firm Under the umbrella of the faith in God, he started his business Temple, Jalaram Bal Vikas was with the blessings of various Saints. formed for the youth. They run Along with the business interests Gujarati language classes, in the UK which were developed with harmonium and tabla classes, and his four sons, he wanted to continue dance and culture classes. In 2001 a his work from Nakuru by developing library was built at the temple for the religious activities. Social work truly benefit of future generations and the elderly. was the closest to his heart. Pramodbhai’s achievements He was given the reponsibility by includes opening ‘Meera Nursing a group of Sarvoday Satsang m andal headed by Bhanuben Kakkad and Home’, the first Asian Vegetarian was instrumental in establishing the nursing home in London and a home first Jalaram Temple in the UK on for the Asian elderly, which was Mere Road, Leicester in 1979. His named after their daughter Meera. wife, Late Shree Lalitaben (daughter Both Pramodbhai and his wife of Late Shamjibhai and Late Jasuben continue in the footsteps Ramkuverben Gheewala) was also of the family by serving the equally dedicated to her husband’s community in the UK, and the needy selfless services to the community, in India & Africa. The Thakkar family’s 4th generation have become the and was a core pillar of strength and torch bearers of good, righteous and support for her husband who passed virtuous deeds in the name of away in April 1991. community, sociable and charitable Late Shree Shantilalbhai’s family have been blessed to host work and has been a trustee at profound saints from all over the OCHS. He also supports local world who have stayed with the reearch charities. family in their Leicester and London In July 2016, to mark 20 years of homes during their visits to the UK. the opening of the Jalaram Temple, a Their four sons, Prakashbhai, new Community Centre was Pramodbhai, Sudhirbhai and Vijaybhai continue the good social work and are still building on the foundations left behind by their late father and mother. Pramodbhai Thakkar has been the Chairman and Trustee of Shree Jalaram Temple in Leicester since the trust acquired its charitable status in 1982, followed by the moving of the temple in 1996 to the new larger Pramodbhai offering flowers to Jalaram Bapa Temple on Narborough Road, Leicester. inaugurated opposite the temple by As Chairman of the Trustees, and the Trust. The Centre is used by the head of the Building Committee, Jalaram Bal Vikas to promote Pramodbhai had the mammoth task Gujarati along with various religious and cultural activities conducted at of fulfilling the dream of the devotees. the centre. During the last three years Between 1995 and 1998, with three during the winter season, a project for and a half ye ars of tireless efforts on his part, a unique place of worship for the homeless was held at the centre the devotees of Shree Jalaram Bapa where they facilitated shelter beds, was built at a cost of £1 million. It was food and heating for the homeless the first such temple in Europe, and people and managed by one roof has since become a place of project.
Pramodbhai Jasuben Meera and Sanvika Thakkar
Meera Thakkar, daughter of Pramodbhai, follows the footsteps of her great grandfather, enjoying social and charitable work as time permits. She enjoys spending time in the presence of religious orators, in particular spiritual leader Sant Shree Morari Bapu. In 2011, under the guidance of Dwarkeshlalji Mahodayshree (Pujya Jeje Shree) Kadi -Ahmedabad, Pramodbhai played a pivotal role in the purchase of vrajdham Haveli Leicester and ‘was summoned back’ and appointed Acquisition Consultant by the Trustees Of Vsuk in 2018 to negot iate and deal with professionals in the purchase of ex jaspar centre. Ten months later, established as the Shrinathdham Haveli and Community Centre! he grand opening dates are from 30th August to 1st September 2019. Thakorji has always found a way to call him back. As pramodbhai says that it must be the blessings of his Late parents Shri Shantilal & Shrimati Lalitaben Thakkar, and more so Late Grandfather Shri Rugnath Jeram Morjaria Thakkar from Nakuru, Kenya, who was a staunch Vaishnav and ardent devotee of Shrinathji.TPramodbhai gives the credit of his success and achievements to Pujya Jalaram Bapa and Thakorji, his Sud Guru Late Ramswarupdas Ji from Jamnagar and also the blessings of his late grandfather Rugnath Bapa, his father, mother and unconditional support of his wife Jasu Thakkar and daughter Meera. Asian Voice & Gujarat Samachar 2019 - Kenya Special
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Citibond Travel bonds families with heritage tourism to Kenya On 25th July 1969, a six-year-old Hitesh and his elder sister Bharti came to the UK along with their parents and 5 other siblings. This year they celebrated 50 years of their stay in this country whilst recalling their bitter-sweet departure from Kenya. Today, Hitesh Mehta and Bharti Shah speak about settling in Britain and remaining connected to their roots by conducting heritage tours to the East African country through Citibond Travel. Their way of giving back to the country of their birth “My father, Vanechand Madhavji Mehta, originally hailed from Gujarat and immigrated to East Africa in pursuit of a better economic future,” recalls Hitesh, Managing Director, Citibond Travel Ltd.
AFRICANISATION AND MOVING TO THE UK Over the years, Vanechandbhai Mehta would establish his independent wholesale business in Mombasa and owing to business requirements moved around Kenya, exploring the trade market in Naivasha, Kisumu, and Nairobi. Amidst setting up his business, he had married and settled down with his wife Prabhaben. But a new rule introduced by the then African government in 1968 mandated for businesses to have an African partner in the business as part of the government's 'Africanisation' policy. “We never experienced any security concerns or personally faced any political unrest. But, my father was presented with two options- he could either accept Kenyan nationality or effectively leave the country. “Being aware of the future growth prospects and opportunities available in this country especially for all the children, my parents decided to retain their British passports and arrived in the UK,” says Bharti Shah, Director, Citibond Travel (London) Ltd.
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Thus, the family wound up their business and arrived in the UK with bare minimum resources in their stow. Finding shelter in this country was a challenge for them and with the help of family friends Vanechandbhai eventually, found and rented a modest two-bedroom apartment to accommodate the entire family of 9 and began working in the printing industry, whilst Prabhaben accepted her first job at the local steel factory. Bharti and her sisters lent their contributions to the family as they started working at local retail outfits whilst Hitesh and the younger siblings continued pursuing their education. Having left behind a life of luxury to come to the UK and make ends meet was a tough period for the family, but Bharti and Hitesh look back on those times as the making of the family unit headed by their parents. Instilling the ethics of honest hard work as the foundation to their lives in the UK.
FAMILY BUSINESS OFFERING BESPOKE TRAVEL EXPERIENCES TO OTHER FAMILIES In those early days, our parents like many other immigrant families only travelled abroad to Kenya or India to visit family or friends. They could not afford any holidays beyond that. It was in 1985 when Hitesh, Bharti and Kishore bought Citibond Travel a small firm in West End. Citibond’s Role then was to establish relationships with Airlines and wholesale to the industry, we have since evolved further to retail for flights only, Tailor made worldwide packages and escorted tours to the community. 34 Years later and still going by the examples set by their parents, Citibond is still a family run business with offices in London and Leicester. Today, Citibond's clientele still
pre-dominantly comprises of Asian families who have come from East Africa and settled in the UK. Studying the market trend cycles wherein Asian families have economically progressed over recent years, Citibond, now offers exotic holiday packages to their customers across the world. Their two offices in Northwest London and one in Leicester have also started offering personalised packages around 'Heritage Tourism'. “During my first visit back to Kenya, Bharti and I had taken our children with us to the house in Naivasha, the town where I was born in. This sparked the idea in me of these tours and in a way give back to Kenya, our place of birth. As a result, we now offer custom tours to Kenya whereupon special request a tour to their childhood towns, or villages can be arranged alongside safaris and beach stays ” explains Hitesh “These tours not only allow families like ours to enjoy a holiday of a lifetime , but we also take them to go back to their place of birth and to visit their old homes, schools and much more, our “Back to the Roots trips”. ” He adds, “apart from a 5 star holiday it is also an education to the younger generation of where their parents and grand-parents came from. Kenya was our place of birth, but it is also a fantastic holiday destination. We conduct many tours, where we have 3 generations of the same family travelling together to get this experience. There is no holiday like it!” Citibond Travels works with local staff on the ground in East Africa who inspect the tourist destinations to ensure a safe and special experience for their customers. Today, the company brings to the forefront not just heritage tourism in the East African country but also offers breathtaking safaris and insight into its panaromic wildlife and more
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RASIKA MEHTA
Pioneer of Navnat Bhagini Utkarsh Kendra, Mombasa:
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healthy mind relates with a healthy body. Today, she believes that the blessings of her mother-in-law combined with the support of her husband she was able to fulfil her dream of starting 'Navnat Bhagini Utkarsh Kendra’ in 1963. The moto and mission of the organisation was to unite women of the community, and create a safe space where they can assemble and confide their troubles. With this agenda, they organised a myraid of activities, campaigns and workshops that will encourage women to enhance and develop their skillset. But establishment of the centre was just a stepping stone, and Rasika soon added another feather to her hat when she became the president of the organisation and stayed in the position for er entrepreneurial father Mohanlal 15 years. Gradually, she decided it was Vora and mother Zabak settled in time to pass on the legacy to younger and Nairobi and estblished their own more capable hands but as the business. However, her father soon handorganisation completed its 25th ed over the keys of his business to his anniversary, she resumed the presidency brother and travelled went back to India and celebrated the occasion by publishing where Rasika spent most of her childhood. an informative, inspiring 'Smruti issue'. She completed her primary education held History repeats itself when Rasika's in Mumbai. In 1948 she qualified her SSC daughter-in-law Renuka recently assumed exam, and got accepted in the renouned the position of being a president of Navnat Willson college, Mumbai. Vanik Bhagini Samaj (NVBS) for nearly She has been a passionate three terms. In 2017 Bhagini Samaj writer since her early celebrated their 40th year of SHE HAS BEEN A childhood days and had successful operations and penned several short PASSIONATE WRITER SINCE HER paying tribute to her mothernovels such as 'Jivan' in-law, she said, EARLY CHILDHOOD DAYS AND HAD (life) and a one-act “My mother-in-law, play called 'Nari PENNED SEVERAL SHORT NOVELS SUCH instilled within me the Nagar’ (Land of the values, which define AS 'JIVAN' (LIFE) AND A women). Her passion ‘women in society today’. ONE-ACT PLAY CALLED 'NARI NAGAR’ This loving mentoring for writing ran so deep that if she had been started in Mombasa and (LAND OF THE WOMEN). provided with enough since then I have had this opportunity and time to hone vision of serving the NVBS.” her writing skills, then she believes An ordinary housewife can serve that she could have become an the community with vision, passion and established writer. Much like her elder determination and she is one of the brother Kavi Pankaj Vora who is a well countless women who has proved her known poet in London. capability and leadership quality. In the However, when she was only 18 years meantime, Himmatlal has also been very young, her family had proposed for her active in Navant Gyati Mandal, Rotary marriage with Himmatlal Jivatlal Mehta club, Saturday club, Kenya Medical who was studying medicine in Mumbai. Association, Indian Association and, Jain Without any objections, Rasika gave up Education Board. Sometime along 1970-72 her career and married Himmatlal on the her all her children one after the other auspicious day of Vasant Panchmi on 31st decided to come to London for further January 1952. In the following year, the studies and eventually settled here. couple moved on to the coastal city of “We didn't know of some of her good Mombasa in Kenya. While Dr Himmatlal work, until after her death. We come to started his own surgery and established know of her humanitarian projects after himself as a child specialist, Rasika her death. The day, she passed is still a ensured she looked after the domestic shock for us but her memories and her affairs. good work to the community is always an Being a firm believer of religion and an inspiration for us,” said Renuka. extremely spiritual soul, Rasika centred They have three children, Bharat, her daily routine around prayers, exercise, Vandna and Ketan, six grandchildren and yoga and fitness. She always believes five great-grandchildren.
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GURUJI, THE SOUL OF MUSIC
Sangeet Vidya Progression
The musicians of Sangeet Vidya Progression have gained accolades from many organisations and individuals. Padma Shri Dr. John R. Marr – Vice Chairman and Hon. Gen. Sec of Bhavan UK said, “I did not expect this level of talent; these stars don’t just twinkle but light up the whole sky”. The little stars are very versatile artists and can perform Bollywood songs, ghazals, qawwali, Punjabi songs, Bhajans, Gujara ti folk music and garba as well as Swahili and English classics, with ease. handravadan Engineer emmigrated from Kenya to England in the late 1970s. Popularly known as Guruji by his students and members of the community, he was introduced to the melodious world of music at an early age through his late mother Bhanumatiben Engineer. Bhanumatiben was a folk singer and performed with very well known artists such as Lakhabhai and Hemubhai Gadhvi. She also organized garbas and trained other students too. Perhaps, his passion to learn music is best illustrated, through his childhood memories where he would look for metal containers and turn them into a pair of makeshift tablas for his riyaz sessions. Over the course of the years, he followed his love for music by joining classes at Mombasa's Shishukunj, and started his training sessions under Pandit Ranchchodbhai Patel. On arrival in Englan d Guruji continued developing his musical skills under the tutelage of late Ustad Kadir Durvesh, an exponent of the Shehnai maestro, late Ustad Bismillah Khan Saab. Guruji learnt not just classical music but he added the rhythmical values of modesty and discipline to his everyday routine. But with all the glamour and fame that his musical career brought to him, he also made quite a few sacrifices. He left hi s wealthy family home in the U.K for a
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small flat in Southall so that he can be closer to Ustad Kadir Saab whom he served until his demise. Guruji’s father, late Shree Jamnadas Engineer, himself loved music and frequently invited musicians from India and Pakistan to perform at his residence. Guruji would accompany many such famous celebrities and it was at one of these concerts that he was introduced to Ustad Naeem Uddin Salaria, a disciple of the late Ustad Umeed Ali Khan of Gwalior Gharana. Guruji began his vocal coaching from Khan Saab and established his career as a vocalist. As well as Gwalior style, Guruji has also learned Indian Classical music from Patiala, Ram Seheswan and Gujarat Gharanas. Guruji’s nanaji the late Pandit Motilal Master a tabla and vocal maestro who accompanied the late shehnai maestro, U stad Bismillah Khan was also influential in Guruji’s family. Guruji's son Puish Kumar is a disciple of the current head of the Benaras Gharana, Pandit Sanju Sahai. He has been under the Sahai family's tutelage since the age of 11 and has performed solos as well as accompanied a wide range of wellknown artists. Guruji's daughter Bianca Engineer is also training to be a Sitarist and is currently being coached by Pandit Sanjay Guha a disciple of Pandit Ravi Shankar and
THE AMAZING LITTLE STARS ARE A GROUP OF HIGHLY TALENTED MUSICIANS WITH SOME CHILDREN BEING AS YOUNG AS SEVEN YEARS OLD. ALL THE STARS ARE BORN AND BROUGHT UP IN THE UK AND HAVE BEEN LEARNING CLASSICAL HINDUSTANI MUSIC BY FOLLOWING THE ORAL TRADITIONAL ‘GURU-SHISHYA-PARAMPARA’ WHICH IS RARELY SEEN NOWADAYS.
The Amazing Little Stars of Sangeet Vidya Progression
Pandit Deepak Choudhury. Bianca also receives Sitar training from Ustad Surjeet Singh Namdhari a leading Sarangi player in the UK and a senior student of Pandit Ram Narayan. In 1986 Guruji established Sangeet Vidya Progression, a school for all avid lovers of Hindustani music. Today, he personally teaches students regardless of their background, age, ethnicity, origin, and their abilities. Dedicated in nurturing and coaching his students Guruji incorporates his years of experience and discipline in his teaching sessions. Students who have been fortunate enough to be taught by Guruji have gone on to serve the community with their musical talent. When asked what makes him proud Guruji always replies with “watching my students learn and perform on stage”. Gu ruji continues on his endeavour to find students who really want to learn music. He dedicates his time and energy to provide guidance to such aspiring individuals who aim to become musical artists. For further information, please call 07956243470 or visit: http://sangeetvidyaprogression.com Supported by Devdaya Charitable Trust (UK), Reg. Charity no: 1103558, www.devdaya.org.uk Email: devdaya@ gmail.com Asian Voice & Gujarat Samachar 2019 - Kenya Special
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Taking the BAPS lineage to East Africa armanbhai was only 18-yearsold when he left his home in the small village of Gana, near Anand, Gujarat and travelled to Kenya in 1920s to join the East African Railways. Back in those days, the railways heavily recruited Indian labourers, and many Indians – especially Gujaratis and Punjabis – emigrated from India to East Africa to emulate the success of those who had paved the way in the late 19th cent ury and early 20th century. Today, his son VH Patel writes about his childhood memoirs where he recalls his father's service to the community and religious organisations in East Africa. Unlike his compatriots, however, my father left India with the blessings of his guruji, Brahmaswarup Shastriji Maharaj. Shastriji Maharaj was third in the spiritual lineage of successors to Bhagwan Swaminarayan. With tireless efforts, dedicated followers and complete faith, Shastriji Maharaj had established the Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Sanstha (BAPS) in 1907, firmly validating the Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan philosophy in Hinduism. My father was a staunch follower, and with his guru's blessings, he was inspired to bring awareness to and spread the ideology of Swaminarayan Satsang in Africa. People had moved there primar ily for economic growth, as opposed to religious reasons. But my father was determined to make a difference and introduce religious spirtuality in the community. Fortunately, he was not alone and he became friends with Maganbhai Motibhai Patel. The two were coincidentally posted at Kibwezi station. As a result, memberships started growing and Satsang assemblies were arranged in towns and cities all along the railway corridors. Subsequently, the movement spread outwards from Kenya into Uganda and Tanzania. I remember the challenges of building a remote community that we faced during those days. Communication was limited. There were no phones.
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V H PATEL Transportation was not easy. Broadcast, radio and television were not available. That, however, did not discourage my father who was in constant contact via letters with seni or swamis in India, particularly with Sadguru Nirgundas Swami. He guided the devotees of BAPS by writing detailed and informative letters. His zeal and enthusiasm to spread the message to all, was to the degree that he was in the habit of issuing multiple handwritten copies using carbon paper. He manually copied enough sets of
letters to forward to followers residing abroad in many different towns. It was t edious and time-consuming work, but he had a deep desire to fulfill the wishes of his guru, Shastriji Maharaj. Fuelled by the teachings and motivation in these letters, the assemblies grew in number. My father and his friend Maganbhai Patel started hosting Satsang gatherings during holidays. Meetings and reunions with each other felt like coming home. We have been fortunate enough to have seen Maganbhai and Harmanbhai falling to the ground in the middle of the road to offer prostrations to one another as a sign of deep admiration and respect. These gestures weren't limited to just the two of them and included other close friends, such as Tribhovandas M.Patel, Chunibhai,
Prabhudasbhai and R.U.Patel grand father of Priti Patel. Their guru, Shastriji Maharaj, had so much trust in these devotees that he gave them ex clusive financial responsibility of completing the intricate and renowned marble temple being constructed on the hilltop in Gadhada, Gujarat to fulfil the vision of Bhagwan Swaminarayan. He was a towering orator and an expert administrator. At the request of Shastriji Maharaj, he left the Railways in 1949. But just before resigning my father had nearly survived and recovered from a major accident. In Africa, due to efforts made by him and several others, the first BAPS mandir was inaugurated in Mombasa, Kenya by Yogiji Maharaj in 1955. This was followed by establishing mandirs in other cities in East Africa and later covering various other parts of subSaharan Africa. In 1962, despite his ill health, my father travelled to the UK, where he helped establish Satsang assemblies with the blessings of Yogiji Maharaj. The venue was at the staunch devotee Praladhbhai Patel's residence in Westend. Unfortunately, on 10 March 1964 in Aden en route to Nairobi, my father passed away after suffering through a heart attack. The devotees in Aden arranged for a funeral following the Hindu tradition in Nairobi where his final rites were conducted in the presence of his family, friends and the Satsang community. As pioneers of the Swaminarayan Satsang community, both Harmanbhai and Maganbhai played a pivotal role in establishing Satsang in East Africa, which later extended not only throughout the African continent, but also further overseas to UK, USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
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Miracles and medicine with
Rajendra Patel
pharmacy director, a philanthropist and a social worker, Rajendra Ambalal Patel was born on 6th November 1952, in India. Carrying the legacy of seven generations of family members, Patel excelled in the field of medicine with virtually zero guidance from his parents and grandparents but with his sheer determination, and unconditional support by his family members. Over the decades, he has incised his name in High Street Pharmacy but has also waded his way through the setbacks, and losses that life has presented to him and eventually healed all the scars that these difficulties had left behind. Today, he recalls of his journey from the small city of Nadiad in Gujarat to the struggling days spent in the city of Nakuru, Kenya and eventually amidst all the hardships settling down in London. “I still remember our address in India. It was Moti Rantaji street, Dumral Bazaar, in Nadiad, Gujarat,” reminisces Patel. A man with deep-rooted family values, Patel recognises the contribution of his great grandparents including those made by Ratanjibhai, Lalbhai, Dwarkadas, Dhajibhai, Mathrubhai and his father Ambalal Patel in building the bonds of love and support that act as unassailable pillars of strength in their secured lives even today. Speaking about his father's journey to Kenya, Patel recalls of the small cycle shop back in Nakuru. “My father moved to Africa in 1939 after he was invited by his older brother Govind. They both moved to Nakuru initally where they started the 'Patel Cycle Store' in partnership with their uncle. Later, he started working with KFA,” Patel recalls. But like they say home is where heart is and although he had moved to Kenya, Ambalal's heart strings
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Rajendra Ambalal Patel & Chandrika Rajendra Patel
were attached to Gujarat and following an injury from his weekly cricket sessions, he returned to his homeland somewhere around the time India achieved its independence in 1947. He settled in India for close to 30 years, says Patel, where he cultivated his life by managing a local orphanage called Hindu Anath Ashram. During his time in Gujarat, he met Congress politicians- the likes of Morarji Desai, Babubhai Jashbhai and Hitendra Desai among others. “My father was very active in politics and in those days used to
meet leading Congress politicians in Gujarat and was a councillor in Nadiad for about 20-25 years. But aside from his involvement with politics, he was also the Trustee of the 'Vithal Kaniya Vidyalaya' and chairman of the Keravani Mandal,” says Patel.
ACADEMICS AND NURSING HOMES: LIFE IN KENYA Ambala Patel had six children with his wife Kashiben Motibhai Patel, a housewife from Sarsa and
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Deepa,Hitesh, Loving father Rajendra, Neha, Neil, Late Mother Chandrika, Reena and Hiren (left to right)
his art of multi-tasking meant that, he was also mangaing the 'Parkland Nursing Home'. Although, he was focussed on his professional career, but his family values pulled him into marriage with Chandrikaben in a traditional ceremony in Nairobi's Brahma Samaj in 1978. Originally from Gujarat's small village 'Tarapur', Chandrikaben has been a firm backbone of the family, supporting him from the very beginning right from establihsing his company “J&N Equichemicals” to caring after all their three daughters. “My first daughter, Neha who is a highly successful optometrist today, was born in 1979 Kashiben Ambalal Patel Ambalal Mathurbhai Patel and in those days Chandrika had never once cousin brother Govindbhai and help complained when I frequently him with his nursing home but his travelled to London between 1978love for sciences saw him venturing 82,” he recalls. into the field of teaching. “I started working in a small town Sotik near Nakuru as a teacher at Gwataniro High School where I taught Physics and Chemistry. Perhaps, it was during these visits Simultaneously, I was managing my that Patel had decided to move to cousin's nursing home and in the London and permanently settled in process I learnt accounting,” says the UK on 24th May 1982 just before Patel. the birth of his second daughter, However, he soon moved to Deepa. Although, building a new life Nairobi in 1976 and joined the in a new city with sky-rocketing living 'Pharmaceutical Manufacturing expenses can be a challenge Patel Company' - his brother's joint managed to buy his first house in business venture - where Patel was Hainault in August in the same year trained by Hasmukhbhai Patel. But and immediately joined Dales all the four sons and two daughters including Rajendra were born in India. This meant that Patel completed his education in India and in 1974 he achieved an Msc in Chemistry from Gujarat University in Ahmedabad. In the same year, he decided to move to Kenya to join his
MOVING TO LONDON AND A BLOOMING EMPIRE
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Southend Ltd. In those days, the Managing Director of the company was Mr. Kirit Patel and was owned by B.C. Patel. “I continued with the same organisation for at least three years. But it was sold out in 1985 to Sanghers Maidstone Ltd that was owned by Denis Pay due to increasing market competition,” says Patel. But aside from working with other businesses, in 1983 Patel recalls how he had started his first shop 'Sunsilk Chemist' in Southend-on-sea under the company 'Gilligad Ltd.' That was only the stepping stone for his business empire which futher bloomed in 1986 when his third daughter Reena was born and he started a new shop called 'Fairview Pharmacy' under Labchoice Ltd. The following year, he cemented professional and friendly relations with Kirit Patel by joining 'Day Lewis Chemist' in Riverhead, Seven Oaks and managed the shop for about three years. In 1988-89 they moved to Croydon in Bensham Lane and continued managing the warehouse there alongside the wholesaling business. “Those were the early days of businesses who were importing medicines and we could have done the same thing but we considered selling our business,” he explains.
ROAD BLOCKS AND SETBACKS But this was just a little road block that Patel did not let him stop
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him in his quest of reaching higher owns five pharmacies across the milestones and in 1993 he started a UK. But beside establishing his new company 'Abbeylace Ltd.' After businesses, Patel has also provided buying two-three pharmacies from his charitable services by joining the Kirit, he started 'Bentley Chemist' at Red Bridge Lions Club after being Peckham and Brockley and introduced to the organisation by continued with his wholesale Shantibhai Patel. Over the course of time he happened to meet Piyush business- Gilligad Ltd and expanded from Safedale Pharmacy who his retail business till 2005. But introduced him to Enfield's Lions difficult times were just around the Club in 1983 where he became the corner and soon he had to start selling some of his shops including President of the club in 1996-97. Fairview Pharmacy and Sunsilk From fundraising for various Chemist. projects including the time when “As people witnessed the Kutch was drought hit to actively increasing sale of my shop, campaigning for disaster relief in competition started rising with two Gujarat, Patel has been at the heart shops opening left and right beside of various humanitarian projects mine and that left me in a knee-deep that support the vulnerable and loss of £100,000 as turnover went needy across different countries in the world. down. “When I was the president of the “I tried to buy out these shops but club, we had donated a Colour competition was fierce and at the Doppler Machine to Dharamsinh same time my partner decided to Desai Heart Foundation, Nadiad move out of my shop in Southend and move in with his family in and also ran a Polio camp where Croydon,” he recalls. we carried out more than 200 His wife Chandrika had never operations in Baroda. worked outside but Patel also had a “We also organised a general corner shop which was managed by medical camp in Dabhoi, India and his wife, sister-in-law and his brother hosted an eye camp in Dar es Vinubhai alongwith other team Salaam, Africa and conducted members. But in 1984, Vinubhai was another similar workshop in Tanga, diagnosed of Meningitis and was Tanzania. We had also donated money to the Tamta Clinic in admitted to a hospital for almost six Tanzania,” he says recalling a few months and Patel had to singlethat have been the closest to his handedly, shoulder the heart. responsibilities of all his business Additionally, in 2005 he was ventures. instrumental in re-building and “I remember chasing sunrise and renovating the main building of the waking up as early as 4 A.M. in Hindu Anath Ashram just after the morning because I celebrating its 100th had to manage all the anniversary by raising pharmacies and the £100,000. newsagent's shop. But they say Those six months charity begins at were a very few home and one of the tough months. lesser known facts, “That was caring after his the biggest brother's children after setback in my life his unfortunate demise, and had it not speaks volumes about happened then me Patel's firm belief in family and Kirit would have values. Aside from getting his stayed together and worked for a longer Rajendra Patel receiving an award for niece educated and married his charitable contributions in the UK, he also shouldered period of time. But the responsibility of his nephew and because of increasing competition I got him settled initially in Australia wanted to independently start and subsequently in America. something of mine,” admits Patel. Today, he is half-retired and owns five pharmacies, all managed by his three capable and married But as they say, difficult roads daughters. His oldest daughter, make better drivers. Patel waded Neha is an Opticmetrist, and owns a through the rough waters and today franchise of Specs Savers whereas
CHARITY BEGINS AT HOME
Deepa is a Graphic Designer and the youngest Reena, a Pharmacist.
BACKBONE OF THE FAMILY PASSES AWAY While his family is now wellsettled in the UK, with all his daughters married and financially independent, they no longer have their mother Chandrika, to seek advice from and strongly rely on Patel for all emotional support. Chandrika passed away just over two years ago. Although being a non-smoker, she was diagnosed
Late Chandrikaben, loving wife, mother, and grandmother
with lung cancer some 5 years ago. “She was operated on to remove the cancer within a year of being diagnosed. She was undergoing therapy and was due to start immunotherapy, which was offering a lot of hope. Unfortunately she suffered some complications and tragically aspirated and passed away,” Patel explains. While, today Chandrika's absence echoes in the voids of their family home, Patel has managed to carry the legacy of their marriage by embedding their principles and ideologies in the community and charity activities that they have carried ever since. “I came here because of widespread exploitation in Africa by the employers but I was aware that London is a city where one doesn't need influence to establish themselves. I was fortunate in being introduced to the right people at the right times and in the right places by my brother Kantibhai Patel and Manubhai Patel of Kisumu and that has made a considerable difference to my life in the UK,” he concludes. Asian Voice & Gujarat Samachar 2019 - Kenya Special
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STRENGTHENING THE COMMUNITY eljibhai represents 30,000 members of the Kutchi Leva Patel Community in the UK. Originally from the small town of Naranpar, near Bhuj, Kutch, his father Parbatbhai Vekaria went to Kenya when he was only 25-years-old. A professional farmer all his life, Parbatbhai married Dhanbai and had two sons Veljibhai and late Kurjibhai. While late Kurjibhai engaged himself in the family's construction business in Keny a, Veljibhai decided to pursue his academic career in management. Eventually, he achieved his diploma in construction management from Mombasa and married Uhuruben. A unique name, Uhuru means “independent” in Swahili, signifying Kenya's freedom on 12th December 1963, the same day that she was born. But beside his professional and personal life, Veljibhai has prioritised his social and community committments in t he last few years. From serving as a secretary of Shree Kutch Satsang Swaminarayan Temple, in Mombasa for 18 years to becoming a trustee of Shree Swaminarayan Acedemy Charitable Trust, Veljibhai has actively dedicated his charitable services to religious organisations. But besides actively campaigning for religious values, he was also
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VELJIBHAI,
PRESIDENT OF SHREE KUTCHI LEVA PATEL COMMUNITY, UK
today he is in-charge of the Diwali Celebrations. He started his service with Shree Kutchi Leva Patel Community as a General Secretary, and in the following years, he became a Vice President of the institution. Now, he is the community's President and an active member of Shree Swaminarayan Gurukul Parivar UK. He is also member of the KenyaUK Diaspora committee. Leading an immensely spiritual BELIEVING IN KARMA AND HUMANITY, HE and religious lifestyle, he has dedicated most of his time to PRACTICES AND PREACHES THE PRINCIPLE preserving the Hindu culture, OF “WHAT GOES AROUND COMES AROUND”. religion and values in the Kutchi community by organising events such as Diwali, Commission in Mombasa from 1992 Navratri, Holi, religious Kathas, to 2000. But in the same year, in Melas, festivals, sports and youth August he moved to London with his activities. Recently as his family where he started work ing with Shashibhai Vekaria and Late contribution towards promoting the Arjanbhai Vekaria of Vascroft Gujarati culture along with members Contractors Ltd. of SKLPC (UK) and with committee A father of three daughters and a members, he had also organised the son, he is a firm believer of following biggest Garba sessions during Navratri at Kutchi Community Hindu religious values whereby he Centre, London, the biggest uses social celebration across the UK. platforms to Believing in Karma and educate youth humanity, he practices and against preaches the principle of “what goes substance abuse around comes around”. and addictive He believes that owing to his habits. good deeds and charitable services, Being a social all family members are well settled worker he joined with his son Rahul happily married the Hindu Forum with his wife Binita. Rahul has a of Britain. 18 successful Mechanical and Electrical years ago, a diwali celebration business where Veljibhai has recently assumed the role of an was started by Operations Manager. Hindu Forum at He can be further contacted at : House of Veljibhai with his wife Commons and till velji@veswas.com instrumental in the construction of the academy complex in Mombasa, leading the project from the front and being in-charge of the recruitment of staff among other activities. But additionally he also started medical plans for the S.K.L. Patel Samaj Charitable Trust (Mombasa) which still works very well. He was appointed as a counsellor for the British High
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Rati Shah
Solicitor & Philanthropist Ratilal Devchand Bhoja Shah, popularly known as Rati Shah (or simply “Rati Solicitor”), has lived a rich and varied life. He has spent decades contributing to community life, leading when required, and leveraging his position as a lawyer to change life of others for the better. He now enjoys a retired life with his wife Kantaben, and they live next door to their son, daughter-in-law, and three grandchildren. What follows is his story. Ratibhai’s father, Devchand Bhoja Shah, had arrived from a small town called Navagam in Gujarat, in the 1900s, to join his own father and brother, Bhoja Dhara Shah and Narshi Bhoja Shah. They ran a small shop together in the small town of Fort Hall (now called Muranga) in Kenya. Devchandbhai later married Kantaben joined the Highridge Maniben and they settled in the Teachers Training College in Nairobi small town of Kerugoya where he in 1964. ran the village grocery store. Rati and Kanta met in 1964 when Ratibhai was born in 1946, the third their respective teachers’ colleges of nine children. held social events together. In his teens, Ratibhai Tragedy struck later went to Nairobi, living at that year when Rati RATI COULD NOW USE Visa Oshwal Boarding, was diagnosed which had been set with a preTHIS PLATFORM TO SERVE HIS up specifically to cancerous COMMUNITY – GUJARATI accommodate growth and he students from those IMMIGRANTS WERE SLOWLY SETTLING was advised to families in the IN BRITAIN AND PROSPERING, AND get treatment at surrounding area for the Tata RATI COULD SPEAK THEIR whom affordability Memorial Hospital was an issue. He in Bombay LANGUAGE. joined the Central immediately. Funds Teachers College in 1963. were borrowed to send Kanta Motichand Hansraj him to India, and fortunately Chandaria was born in Mombasa. he got there in time and the Her father came from Ravalsar in treatment was successful. Once he Gujarat and his younger brothers was given the all clear, he sailed to came over from India eventually, Mombasa where his family had settling in Mombasa and Nairobi. moved to in the meantime.
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Ratibhai successfully graduated as a teacher from college and he started teaching at The Likoni Girls Primary School, a few miles from Mombasa. After a year of teaching, Ratibhai decided he wanted to study further, and seek out a life abroad. After completing his A-Levels he managed to secure a job as an articles clerk with Beech and Beech Solicitors on Kilburn High Road in London. Meanwhile Kantaben qualified as a teacher and started teaching at Bura Girls High School (situated, rather unimaginatively, in Bura, which is a train station on the Mombasa Tanga Railway, close to the Taita Taveta Hills). They renewed their friendship in 1969 when Ratibhai came to Mombasa for his elder brother Shantibhai’s wedding. Subsequently, Kantaben came to London for further studies and started work with an
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accountancy firm in Holborn. They married in 1972 in Mombasa and settled in a house in Edmonton. Ratibhai's family joined them in 1973. Three months after passing his solicitors’ exams, Ratbhai came to a crossroads in his life: his boss Mr Beech had tragically and unexpectedly passed away and that meant the firm would close unless Ratibhai could find a way to keep it going. Ratibhai decided he would take the risk. He needed a business partner (he would not have been allowed to practice as a solicitor by himself so soon after passing his exams), and found one in Lesley Burke, who was an ex-employee of Beech & Beech. They now started practising as Shah and Burke. Rati could now use this platform to serve his community – Gujarati immigrants were slowly settling in Britain and prospering, and Rati could speak their language. He was known to people, he was thoughtful and respectful to his clients (unlike some on the high street at the time), and he would take the time to explain legal issues patiently. He was also by now taking an active part in organising the Oshwal community by becoming a committee member, then secretary; first at the regional level and then in the Central Committee. He was active from the outset when the Oshwal Community acquired a piece of land in Potters Bar and then built the Assembly Halls there, and heavily involved when subsequent properties in South London and Kingsbury and later in Hounslow were acquired for the community. As a representative of Jains and Oshwals, he was part of a team which went to Buckingham Palace to meet with the Duke of Edinburgh, and also part of a delegation which met Pope John Paul II at the Vatican. Ratibhai was also active with the Lions Clubs, a non-political service organisation. He served the Lions Club of Enfield as a secretary for a number of years, then as President, Zone Chairman, Regional Chairman and the District Governor of Lions Club for District 105A. The Lions Clubs carried out many charitable events. They helped various charities working in India to alleviate poverty, increase access to education, and boost health and medical services. At the same time Ratibhai was also taking an active part in the running of the Brent Indian
Association. He was instrumental in securing the freehold of their headquarters from the local council and then getting a Millennium Grant to rebuild that property. In 2011, Her Majesty the Queen honoured him with the award of an MBE for his services to the community. In October 2012 Rati had a stroke, which he was very lucky to survive. He suffered in various ways, but showed great strength and regained the ability to walk and talk. These days Rati keeps himself busy,
healthy and relatively fit by going to social clubs, doing yoga and a regular gym regime. The family feel blessed that they have a lot of support, from extended family who treat them as treasured family members, including accompanying them on holidays and ensuring they have any help they need, to friends who make sure that Ratibhai is still able to enjoy and contribute to the various clubs and associations that he has given so much to over the years.
ACHIEVMENTS & AWARDS : Over the years, Ratibhai has been awarded all sorts of different awards by the Lions Club, the most prestigious of which was the Ambassador of Goodwill Award, which is the highest Award that is made. Ratibhai has been made a Freeman of the City of London and has also been given Asian Achievers Award by ABPL Group. In 2005 the Mayor of Brent gave him the 'Citizen of Brent' Award.
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Carrying the legacy of Arya Samaj
eligion, culture and heritage form an integral part of being an Indian. Many Indians migrated to Kenya in the early 1900s and carried this legacy with them to foreign shores. They arrived in Mombasa by steamers with their families enduring a journey of ten days to start afresh. Sunita Sanger is second genreation born in Mombasa in 1950. Tracing her ancestral roots, she recalls how her paternal grandfather Shiv Chand Bowry came to Kenya with the British in 1900. Her father Vishnu Bowry and four siblings were born in Mombasa. She speaks fondly of her dadi Bhagwanti Bowry and her links with the Arya Samaj which she along with her few contemporaries opened in a small building near a Gurudwara in Mombasa. The Arya Samaj is an Indian Hindu reform movement that promotes values and practices based on the belief in the infallible authority of the Vedas. She was encouraged by her rakhi brother who had studied in Gurukul, India. Every Sunday havans were performed at the Arya Samaj with families reciting and
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teaching the havan mantras and bringing the community together. Sunita Sanger arrived in London in May 1964 with her father, mother and two siblings. Life in London was tough but her mother Sushma Bowry was a great inspiration from managing the household and looked after our education and building our faith in the Arya Samaj. “You had good and comfortable days in the past. Now, turn the present challenging circumstances into success through hard work and faith in almighty,� My mother was also instrumental to start the Hindu Society in Tooting where Havans were performed every Sunday which to this day are embedded in me. To carry this legacy forward, I in turn taught my two children and now my three grandchildren. Today I do teach my children what is expected of them and believe that all they have learnt is by setting an example. She believes that she has been successful in cultivating core Hindu beliefs and values by spending time with them.
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Rehabilitation and Reunion: Sobhag's journey from Meru to the UK obhag Haria was born in 1950 in an impoverished town of Meru, Kenya. In those days Meru's landscape was with just 250 Asian people and houses built of corrugated sheets and thatched roofs where neither electricity nor running tap water was available. No sewer system, scarce rooms and heating water on wooden planks- such was the everyday life in Meru. T oday, Sobhag recalls of the days when winter frosted their homes and burning cow-dung with broken pieces of charcoal became his everyday task. “The economic conditions were such that I used to study under the tree up until standard two,” says Sobhag reminiscing about his old days. Sobhag originally hails from Rajasthan and moved to Sindh. His ancestors migrated to Kutch and then to Halar (Jamnagar). Eventua lly his father Raichand Virji Haria arrived to Kenya, got married to Savita. His mother passed away when he was only 12-years-old and although, he had his father's guidance, how did Sobhag battle his life, move to the UK and establish his charitable works, community events, and a thriving business empire? He did not acquire the highest degree of education, but completed his O-levels and joined his father’s wh olesale business in Meru. However, after being served with a ‘quit’ notice, they left Meru in December 1969 and settled in Nairobi. Having moved to Nairobi, at age 19 he independently started a ready-to-wear Jaytex clothing retail shop to chain of shops Wonderwear, Tito & Titbit from scratch in the heart of the city. At the age of 25 in 1975 incorporated Kenpoly. where he started manufacturing products made o f plastic like Beer crates and household. Gradually, he extended his business where he started Packaging Industries (PIL) manufacturing and printing plastic
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bags. “Despite having difficult surroundings like lack of knowledge, finance, roads, electricity, sewer, in establishing Industry, I succeeded due to my positive nature and thinking. This includes my second Industry being rebuilt after burnt down to ashes after catching fire, destroying the property, machinery and the raw material.” “Despite these hurdles, I managed to establish both industries as largest in their own ways in Kenya,” he said. However, he handed up his businesses and industries to his partners and family members in Kenya and permanently moved to the UK in 1989. Within nine months he ventured into the business of three nursing homes in Mancheste r, Liverpool and Wigan. Currently looks after 122 residents and employs over 140 staff, giving service to the community. Consequently, he bought a residential property in Hatchend. On 09th September 2006 Sobhag pioneered a reunion of the citizens of Meru who are now settled in the UK. Haria dedicated almost a year to plan the event at Kadwa Patidar Centre and individually contacted about 1,200 people and 600 pe ople were able to gather. As part of the exhibition-event, he travelled to his hometown Meru to assemble pictures of the whole town including snapshots of old schools, churches, hospitals, temples and other memorabilia. “I felt extremely disappointed when we were served with the “Quit” notice. To be asked to leave the town you were born in, is painful and the whole idea behind this exhibition was to bring bac k the fond memories of the town to people like me who no longer live there,” he says. The exhibition consisted of all those photos including detailed captions that stated owners of the
shops, names of individuals, collages of children studying during the 1960s sourced from teachers and headmasters, photos of deceased Indians in Meru; letters from Indian-origin settlers (in early 1900s) about their migration stories whilst travelling from India and settling in Kenya. In August 2009 he participated for Gandhi’s London Walk where he traversed through the heart of London in a three hour march. The walk helped him receive an insight into MK Gandhi’s days into London as a student, civil rights activist and then leader of Indian freedom struggle. He organized the “Mohan to Mahatma Gandhi” exhibition at Kadwa Patidar Centre, Oshwal Centre and Sai School. His plans to organize exhibitions in Kenya and South Africa were not successful due to their circumstances.
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MAVJI DHANJI JADVA VEKARIA
On building his life in London AT NINE-YEARS-OLD, IN 1975, MAVJI DHANJI VEKARIA, BID A LAST GOODBYE TO HIS FRIENDS IN THE SMALL VILLAGE OF BALADIA IN BHUJ, INDIA. HOLDING HIS MOTHER'S HAND, AND TUGGING HIS SIBLINGS BEHIND HIM, HE BOARDED A SHIP THAT WOULD TAKE ALL OF THEM TO HIS FATHER'S HOME IN NAKURU, THE FOURTH LARGEST CITY OF KENYA, MOST POPULAR FOR FLAMINGOS. VEKARIA SPENT A FEW YEARS, ACCLIMATISING TO THE TROPICAL TEMPERATURES OF NAKURU BEFORE HE WAS MOVING TO THE NEARBY CITY OF KISUMU. “My father - Dhanji Jadva Ramji Vekaria – came to Kenya in 1970s and was a foreman working in the construction sector and so, he was constantly moving between cities depending on where he found work,” says Mavji. Life was not a cakewalk for Dhanji and his wife, especially with having to send their four young children to school and education was an expensive commodity even in those days. Perhaps, Mavji was unconsciously aware of the financial burden that his parents were under and so, accompanied his father to the construction sites as his assistant during the holidays. “My father spent quite a lot of his time on construction sites and would only visit us at home during the weekends. So, I would always accompany him on these projects and try to help out in any way that I could,” he laughs recalling how he would only be helpful in calculating the wages for the staff. Mavji finished his O levels at Kisumu Boys High School where among other subjects he studied wood-working which later helped him in establishing his career in carpentering. But learning about carpentry in school was not the same as having that field experience which, Mavji believes, would have been an added advantage for him when he first came to London. “Although, I had assisted my father
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on his projects I virtually had no experience and knowledge of how the construction industry worked in the UK,” he says. Mavji came to London in 1986 with a backpack full of dreams on his shoulders of leading a more successful life. Young and ambitious, Mavji started his life in London as a fellow labourer, learning up the rules and regulations of the industry and taking special care of understanding the health and safety guidelines. “I often wonder if I had had a further degree in architecture then life would perhaps, have been completely different for me,” he wonders. But in those days when he used to stay at his aunt's home because he could not afford London's lifestyle, pursuing higher education would have only added to the financial pressures. So, Mavji sweated out at building sites and picking up the tricks of the trade from his fellow European colleagues who had been in the field for a long while. But aside from the Europeans, London's labour market was also home to many Indians who were not well-versed in English. Mavji being fluent in both English and regional languages of Hindi and Gujarati would play a mediator in these circumstances and facilitated that dialogue between these communities. “I was able to manage staff and get the work done in the following two years that I worked as an apprentice carpenter,” recalls Vekaria.
Mavji had been fortunate in acquiring an apprenticeship and joined as a partner with a local construction company at Stonebridge called DA Williams. Following, the two years of his work experience and with the help of his friend Kurjibhai, he managed to acquire an office and warehouse in Willesden. He was able to start and register his own company 'Kenford Builders' in 1988, setting up his office in the corner room of his home with his wife, Sudha being his only assistant in the beginning. Eventually, he was able to rent out an office at Ealing road with the help of his friend Kurjibhai in 1996 and has successfully continued with his business of sub-contracting and refurbishments in the construction industry. Today, Mavji wears the various hats of being an an accomplished carpenter to a successful businessman and is currently a President of the Shree Kutch Leva Patel Community, UK and served as a President of Baladia Leva Patel Sarvodal for 12 years. As President of SKLPC (UK) he had managed to get the full planning permission to build the state of art centre at the Green Belt site. His contribution to the community has included his visit to Nepal to see where the Samaj can best use funds raised to support and help rebuild aside from working with local community members and Swaminarayan Temples in London.
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Asian Voice & Gujarat Samachar 2019 - Kenya Special
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Kenya as it stands today
The presence of the Indian diaspora in Kenya can be traced back to the 17th century and from 1890 to 1914, when there were more Indians than white colonial settlers. Half a century after achieving independence, efficient governance, relatively stable political economy and resource-rich land makes Kenya a lucrative investment hub. But to truly understand the development graph in the country, it is critical to analyse it's history.
A PYRAMID STRUCTURE AND INDENTURED LABOURERS After Britain took control of Kenya in 1895, a large influx of white settlers and the sale of vast areas of the Highlands to wealthy investors began in the early years of the twentieth century. Many more Indians - about 30,000 - who were already subjects of the British Empire, came across the ocean as indentured laborers. About two-
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thirds of indentured laborers eventually returned to India. But many of those who stayed became skilled workers on the railways, while others who migrated to Kenya as traders became successful entrepreneurs, merchants, farmers, and government workers. With Europeans having exclusive access to the fertile highlands, and Indians in the middle working as traders with native Africans on the bottommost rung, a racial pyramid like structure evolved since the colonial rule. Throughout the 1920s and 30s, colonial policies eroded the rights of the African population. The Kikuyu, Masai and Nandi people were driven from their lands or forced into poorly paid labour. While Kenya’s Indian immigrants, for years, existed in a political and social limbo lacking opportunity for full political participation under British rule. However, this set-up allowed the Asian community to flourish economically and build
themselves as a group. The growing nationalist movement resulted in the emergence of the Kenya African Union in 1946, led by Harry Thuku. But their inability to bring about reform from the colonial authorities led to the emergence of more militant groups. By the time of Kenya’s Mau Mau rebellion, which lasted through most of the 1950s, the political sympathies of Kenya’s Indian community had fractured, largely along generational lines. Some prominent older Indians in Kenya opposed the rebels while many younger, educated Kenyans of Indian heritage opposed the British response.
POLITICAL PARTICIPATION OF THE INDIAN DIASPORA Afterward, the liberation politics threatened the Indian community’s sense of belonging once again. Some visions emphasizing ethnic
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nationalism of independence in Kenya left little room for Indians. In response, Indians argued for participation in an independent Kenya claiming that Indian capital was necessary for the state to be viable. It was a tense decade for Kenyan Indians after the country's independence in 1963: The Indians were offered the choice of obtaining either British or Kenyan citizenship. Many emigrated to Britain, but roughly 100,000 stayed, remaining relatively prosperous. Many Indians felt that the growing demand for position and power from the newly educated African middle class would lead inevitably to their exclusion from the job market. Also, the painful post-independence experience of the Congo was still fresh then. So only about 10 percent of the Indian population applied for Kenyan citizenship. The rest chose what later turned out to be “devalued” British passports. But by that time, about 35 percent of the population of Nairobi was of Indian heritage. The crisis situation for Indians occurred yet again in 1968, when Kenya passed the first of its many laws that largely barred Indians with British passports from holding gainful employment. Almost simultaneously, the Labour government in Britain, expecting an influx of its colored citizens from the East African countries, limited the number of Indian families with British passports who could enter England annually, to 3000. As a consequence, there were thousands of Indian “refugees” in Kenya, unable to work there and denied the right to their legal homeland. Many of whom were often seen strolling the streets of Nairobi, Mombasa, and other cities; some resorted to begging, others lived on charity, and many moved in with those relatives and friends who could still make a living. Many Indians began a long trek, shuttled from one world airport to another, until finally someone admits them, temporarily. Because of the great distances these homeless groups travelled, they were often called “migronauts”. The Indian community has also faced persecution by African leaders. For example many Indians had to flee from Uganda to Kenya to escape persecution by General Idi Amin Dada who singled them out for blame for Uganda’s economic and
political problems. On the other hand, former Kenyan President Daniel Arap Moi, in 1982, accused that Kenya’s large Asian community was “ruining the country’s economy”.
INDIANS HOLDING THE REIGNS OF KENYA'S ECONOMY However, there is a huge economic influence of Indians since the beginning of 1900 and till today they are deeply involved in the local economy. Kenyan Indians, though they constitute a marginal proportion of the Kenyan population, makes a substantial economic contribution to the larger society and they are found in almost all sectors of the economy. Today, Indians are driving a big economic part all over the country (>30% in total). As Indians were not allowed to buy land, most Wahindis established private businesses and formed large business groups to keep them together. Its visible everywhere – till today. They have business ventures in all the major towns of Kenya – Kisumu, Mombasa, Nairobi, Nakuru, Eldoret and Kakamega. Even rural areas are not left behind; Wahindis have moved into rural areas to invest in small and big businesses as well. Despite a long standing presence in the country and their involvement in the socio-economic and political life of the country, Asians in Kenya including people from origins in India, Bangladesh and Pakistan finally received validation as an integral part of the social fabric of the country as the 44th tribe in 2017. With a sizeable population of
persons of Indian origin in kenya, education, shared experiences and people-to-people connections featured heavily in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's speech in Nairobi during his first visit to the African Mainland Africa. Modi invoked India’s past links with the continent— the shared experience of struggle against colonial powers. Having been declared Kenya's 44th officially recognized tribe, Indians now face new takes on existing inter-community problems as they wade into Kenya's turbulent tribal politics. It is unsurprising that anti-Indian sentiment has sometimes accompanied Kenyan election cycles as a means to rally political bases and direct discontent outwards. Individuals who try and bridge this gap often face a hard time - from both sides. While the Asian contribution to development of Kenya is assessed principally in economic and political terms, it is important to appreciate that they opened up and expanded their activity to the remotest parts of Kenya and contributed in the education, health and welfare sectors. Thus, the history and development of Kenya cannot be separated from that of Indians who are an integral part of that process. Due largely to the segregationist policies of the colonial government before independence, the Indians lived, worked and socialised within their own communities and maintained what may be described as ‘only essential contacts’ with Europeans and Africans. However, this has changed over the years. The children of even the most uneducated Asian Dukawallas are today educated overseas and adept at mixing with people of all races. Asian Voice & Gujarat Samachar 2019 - Kenya Special
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Topics
EDITORIAL INDEX
The lost Indians and politics of migration
Page No.
Migration to Kenya: Forgotten chapters of India's history From Eldoret to England the way they made it
9
13
THE TEAM Publisher/Editor
: CB Patel
From Kenya to pre-eminence in the UK
17
De-constructing Vraj Pankhania's heritage
24
Managing Editor (Asian Voice)
: Rupanjana Dutta
30
Consulting Editor
: Jyotsna Shah
The world is my school
How did the Dhamecha's cash out of Kenya and carry their family values to the UK
Purpose in politics with councillor Ajay Maru
Business across borders and the Swaminarayan faith legacy continued
Following friends into Pharmacy: The evolution of Sigma Pharmaceuticals Plc Ramji the King of furnishing Living with tigers
20
35 36
38
42
44
History of the BAPS Swaminarayan community in Kenya
46
Chronicling immigration: Best of 3 worlds
55
Sewa Singh Atkar's story untold
52
The art of giving: Advocate's gift to wife Kala Raichura
56
Each candle to light up another
60
Halari Visa Oshwal settlement in the UK
Heal the world: Dr. Mahesh's healing touch to the community The road not taken: Molo's history through Amritlal's lens
Following in the footsteps of Rugnath Jeram Morjaria Thakkar
59
63 66 68
Citibond Travel bonds families with heritage tourism to Kenya
70
Guruji The soul of Music
73
Miracles and medicine with Rajendra Patel
75
Rati Shah solicitor and philanthropist
80
Pioneer of Navnat Bhagini Utkarsh Kendra, Mombasa
Taking the BAPS lineage to East Africa Strengthening the community
Carrying the legacy of Arya Samaj
Rehabilitation and reunion: Sobhaj Haria's journey from Meru to the UK Mavji Dhanji Jadva Vekaria Kenya as it stands today
90
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72 74 78
82 84
86
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